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Book 



American 
Squab 
Culture 




By E. H. EGGLESTON 




American Squab 
Culture 



THIS BOOK is a treatise on 
squab culture thoroughly cover- 
ing over a hundred different subjects 
and includes everp linoTvn branch of 
the squab industr]^. 

THE AUTHOR has had 
man^ ^ears of practical experience 
in breeding and marf^eting squabs. 
He is recognized authority on all 
squab producing pigeons, and a con- 
stant contributor to all the leading 
squab journals. He is also Treas- 
urer and a Member of the Executive 
board of the International Carneau 
Club and a member of the Indian- 
apolis, Los Angeles and Chicago 
Pigeon Clubs. 



Copyrighted 1916 

By E. H. ^pGLESTON 

509 So. Wabash Ave., Chicago, III. 



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E. H. EGGLESTON 



By Tmiuifhr 

MAY 20 |9!9 



PREFACE 

THIS book is published for the benefit of those who 
desire to become familiar with squab breeding — for 
those who desire to go into the squab business — and 
as a ready reference for those who are in the business. 

The rapid growth of the squab industry in America, 
coupled with the fact that there is considerable to learn 
about the care and breeding of pigeons, has created a de- 
mand for a book which will furnish complete and specific 
information, and an intelligent explanation of the possi- 
bilities of the squab industry. While there are many things 
to be learned on the subject of keeping pigeons both for 
pleasure and profit, much more than one would naturally 
believe, the knowledge is of such a nature that it can be 
readily grasped, provided it is sought for in a careful and 
systematic manner. To read this book through as you 
would a novel, or story book, will give only a slight 
giMieral knowledge of the subject, but if a thorough knowl- 
edge is desired, the book must be read and studied as a 
school text-book. 

In order to get the most out of the various subjects 
treated herein, the reader should have had some practical 
experience previously or be engaged in pigeon raising at 
the time the book is read. 

In writing on the various topics in this book, I have 
thought it necessary to explain certain facts and details 
more than once in order to cover several closely connected 
subjects in a general yet compact way. Then, for the bene- 
fit of those who desire to study each specific subject, I have 
treated them separately under their respective heads. 

3 



INDEX TO CONTENTS 

PAGE. 

3. Preface. 

9. American Squab Culture. 

9. Is There Money in Squabs. 

12. Who Can Raise Squabs. 

13. Where Squabs Can Be Raised. 

14. When to Start in the Squab Business. 
14. Raising' Squabs for Home Consumption. 
16. How to Start. 

23. Raising Pigeons for Pleasure. 

CARE OF PIGEONS 

75. When and How to Feed. 

7S. What to Feed. 

SI. Pigeon Feed. 

86. Pigeon Milk. 

.S6. Feeding Bread to Pigeons. 

87. Grit, Sand and Gravel. 

88. Charcoal. 

89. Oyster Shell. 

89. Salt. 

90. Sulphate of Iron. 

91. Drinking Water for Pigeons. 

92. Bathuig. 

94. Care of Fly Pen. 

95. Care of Squab Plant. 
102. Nesting Material. 

141. Feeding Squabs by Hand. 

PIGEON HABITS 

20. Pigeon Habits and Characteristics. 

27. The Growth of a Squab. 

30. How Pigeons Mate. 

34. In-Breeding. 

5 



INDEX— Continued 



MARKETING 
PAGE. 

26. Squabs Help to Solve the Meat Problem. 

130. Pi-epariiig Squabs for Market. 

131. How to Kill and Piek Squabs. 

132. How to Use Paraffin. 

133. Shipping Dressed Squabs. 
135. Shipping Squabs to Market. 

130. Shipping Squabs a Long Distance. 

137. Educating the Customer to Good Squabs and Pi-ices. 

139. How to Ship Live Birds. 



DIFFERE.NT BREEDS OF PIGEONS 

;>j. DitTerent Kinds of Pigeons. 

3l). Different Bi-eeds of Utility Pigeons. 

3ti. Homers. 

38. White King^. 

39. Mondaiues. 

40. Crested Mondaines. 

40. Maltese. 

41. Canieaux. 

4S. Solid Color not Important in Carneaux. 

50. Canieau Crosses. 

56. Yellow Canieaux. 

58. "White Carneaux. 

60. Black Canieaux. 

175. Fancy Pigeons. 

176. Mating Fancy Pigeons. 
176. Developing Fancy Pigeons. 



INDEX— Continued 
PESTS, ILLS AND AILMENTS 

PAGE. 

Oo. Lice, Miles mid (Itlior \'cnniii. 

10."). Cats, Kats, Etc. 

lOCl. Thieves and Bad Boys. 

107. Sparrows, Hawks and Owls. 

J 10. Pigeon Diseases and Remedies. 

in. Koiip and Colds. 

112. Going Liiiht. 

112. Going' Light Not a Specilie Ailment. 

114. Diseases and Remedies. 

116. Sore Eyes. 

117. Lumps on Wings. 

118. Sore Feet. 

118. Mud Balls on Feet. 

140. Feeding Weak or Sick Pigeons. 

GENERAL INFORMATION 

28. How to Tell Male from Female. 

33. How to Keep an Equal Number of Males and Females. 

43. The Proper Weight for Carneaux. 

45. Objection to Carneau Crosses. 

52. How to Improve the Quality of Your Flock. 

53. Raising Pigeons to a Standard. 
99. How to Band. 

103. How to Select Youngstei's for Breeding Purposes. 

108. Moulting. 

108. What to do When the Flock is Moulting. 

119. Soft Shelled Eggs. 

119. Barren Females. 

120. When but One Egg Hatches. 

120. When One Squab Dies. 

121. How to Tell the Period of Incubation. 

123. When Both Squabs Die Before Three Days Old. 

123. One Squab Smaller Than the Other. 

124. Old Birds that Abandon Their Eggs. 

125. Squabs That Leave Their Nest Too Soon. 

125. When to Remove Squabs from the Nest Room. 

126. How to Care for Squabs After They Leave the Nest Room. 

129. When Birds Get Old. 

130. Infertile Eggs. 



INDEX— Continued 

PAGE. MISCELLANEOUS 

62. Utility Pigeons Rather Than Fancy. 

65. International Standard for Cameaux. 

69. Feather Color. 

142. How to Dream the Maximum Squab Yield. 

146. Cooking and Sen-ing Squabs. 

148. Pigeons for Exhibition Purposes. 

149. How, When and Where to Exhibit. 

150. Some Squab Houses I Have Seen. 

177. Care of Common Pigeons. 

178. How and When to Feed and Water Birds That Fly Out. 
185. How to Keep Pigeons that Fly Out from Leaving Home. 

188. Bookkeeping. 

189. Cause of Failure. 

187-188. Helpful Hints, Do's and Don'ts. 

CONSTRUCTION OF SQUAB HOUSE 

19. Squab House for Small Plant. 

24. Ornamental Squab House for Side or Front Yard. 

71. Squab House for Large Plant. 

72. The Kind of a Squab House to Build. 
356. Preparing Ground for Squab Plant. 
]56. How to Build a Squab House. 

]81. Out Door House for Birds that Fly Out at Liberty. 

SQUAB HOUSE EQUIPMENT 

160. Aisle in Fi-ont. 

163. How to Construct Overhead Exit. 

164. How to Build a Fly Pen. 

165. Bath Troughs. 

165. How to Build Bath Troughs. 

167. Drinking Troughs and Fountains. 

168. The Eggleston Double Nest System. 

171. Collapsible Mating Coops. 

172. Feed Boxes. 

174. Nest Material Rack. 

179. How to Construct Nesting Places for Birds that Fly Out. 



"AMERICAN SQUAB CULTURE" 

While pigeons have been kept in a domesticated state 
for thousands of years and during this period many of 
them have served their purpose by furnishing the tables 
of mankind with wholesome and nutritious food, it has 
been left for American ingenuity to put the rearing of 
squabs in large numbers upon a commercial basis. 

Different persons have claimed the honor of this 
achievement and your author will not attempt to say who 
is the real founder of the industry. Squab raising is only 
in its infancy and as the requirements of meat production 
in America is an ever present one, this work is written in 
the hope that some new light may be shed upon this sub- 
ject. 

Everybody engaged in pigeon raising, whether they 
keep a pair of common pigeons in the back yard, or breed 
pigeons for pleasure or for racing, or owns a squab plant, 
large or small, are more or less interested and come under 
the head of pigeon raiser or squab breeder. 

In dealing with this question, I shall try to treat it 
along the line of economy in time and expense, and to 
make it as instructive as possible. 

While the various subjects of interest to squab breeders 
will be my chief topic, pigeons are pigeons, and conse- 
quently there are many methods which apply equally to 
the fancier and the squab breeder, so I will give these com- 
mon points due consideration as I go along. 



IS THERE MONEY IN SQUABS? 

Is there money in squabs? This is usually the first 
question that flashes across one's mind when one first learns 
of the industry, and again the question is first asked when 
one contemplates entering the business. Even those 
actually engaged in a small or irregular way often ask of 
themselves: Is there money in squabs? 

For the benefit of all interested, I will give a synopsis 
of the possibilities of the squab business, and some facts 
and figures which should convince each "doubting Thomas" 
that money can be made raising squabs. Most any indus- 
try can be figured out with a pencil and a piece of paper 
to meet the requirements of a skeptical mind, and for that 
reason I will not undertake to figure the profits of the 
business from an assumed basis. I will give the cost of 
breeders ; the cost of equipment ; how much it takes to feed 
and care for squab producers; the number of squabs an 
average pair will produce annually under normal condi- 

9 



tions ; and the average market value of squabs in the vari- 
ous sections of the United States. With these facts one 
can make his own calculations, taking into consideration 
his locality, market facilities, the number of birds he ex- 
pects to handle, and the amount of time he expects to 
devote to the business. While there are thousands of peo- 
ple throughout the United States making money raising 
squabs, there are many who are not succeeding, and some 
who have no knowledge of whether they are making or 
losing money. 

Belgian Carneaux are conceded to be the best all 
around squab producers by a large majority of the people 
interested in squab raising. Therefore, I will take this 
breed as a standard from which to figure profit and loss. 

The first item of expense to be reckoned in squab rais- 




ing is ground space. If a squab plant is built in the coun- 
try, naturally the ground space is worth but little. If it 
is built on the back end of a lot, it is also a small item, 
but if built on a lot purchased for that purpose, a fair in- 
terest on the value of the portion of the lot used must be 
added annually to expense. , 

Good Carneaux from a reliable breeder can be pur- 
chased for about $5 a pair. House room, fly pen, nest 
boxes and other equipment, suitable for the average Amer- 
ican climate, will cost for lumber and labor about $1.70 
a pair, provided a house is planned sufficient for as many 
as 160 pairs; less than that number the building would 
cost more, proportionately up to $2.00 a pair. This is 
based upon the fluctuation of prices of lumber and labor, 
and upon the loft, fly pen, and nest box system described 
in this book, and it is firmly believed that the houses and 
buildings described herein will be as cheap as any. Forty 
pair of squab breeders will do well in one room, 8 by 10 

10 



feet, with fly pen 8 by 12.feet, making a total ground space 
of 8 by 26 feet, counting a 4-foot isle. It will cost to feed 
a pair of Carneaux for one year, including their squabs, 
until killing age, $1.20 or less. 

One man can, with good equipment and convenient ar- 
rangements, care for 2,000 pairs of birds, with the services 
of one extra man or two extra boys or girls to help pick 
on killing days, so the proportionate annual expense of 
caring for squab breeders will be about 25e per pair. 

The breeding life of a pair of Carneaux is easily six 
years, so one-sixth of the purchase price of the breeders 
should be charged off annually, and it is also a good plan 
to charge off 10% of the cost price of buildings and equip- 
ment annually, although buildings used for squab pur- 
poses will last a long time if painted regularly and prop- 
erly cared for. 

Taking all the above mto consideration, and allowing 
an extra percentage for waste and other leakages, the ex- 
pense will run less than $2.00 a year per pair. With ordi- 
nary care and treatment, a pair of Carneaux will easily 
average 16 squabs a year, which will bring on any market, 
the year around, $4.00 a dozen. An economical person 
will be enabled to reduce the above expense. With care- 
ful attention and systematized care, a pair can be made 
to produce a larger number annually; with a little good 
judgment and effort used in the selling end, squal)s can 
be sold for more than $4.00 a dozen. These are facts that 
have l)een demonstrated over and over again, by actual ex- 
perience and by tests, and can be depended upon to be 
correct. With this information it will be an easy matter 
for one to calculate how much he can count on making 
from each pair of birds, provided he has good breeders, 
properly housed and cared for. 

If squabs are sold to private trade, hotels, clubs, or 
shipped to some commission merchant in New York or the 
large cities, they will bring more than $4.00 a dozen, but 
I have used this figure as a minimum amount that good 
squabs will bring in most any market. 

Does it pay to raise squabs, can be answered in fewer 
words than the above. There is an unlimited demand for 
squabs at a fair price in America. Good squab breeders 
can be purchased at a fair price. The right kind of 
breeders are very prolific, healthy and easy to handle, and 
the expense of feed, care and interest on investment for 
any number of squab breeders will not equal the amount 
received from the sale of their squabs. This is being proven 
by hundreds of breeders daily, all over the country, but 
as the price of feed, method of handling and price of squabs 
vary, there cannot be a fixed percentage of profit deter- 
mined upon. 

11 



WHO CAN RAISE SQUABS? 

Contrary to the average opinion, squabs can be raised 
profitably in the towns and cities of America, as well as 
in the villages and country, but not on as large a scale 
unless a place is provided in the suburbs. A small back- 
yard is sufficient space to accommodate quite a number of 
squab breeders. 

It only takes a ground space of 8x24 feet to com- 
fortably house and care for 30 to 40 pairs of squab 
breeders. This much space can easily be squeezed out of 
most any city lot without interfering with the ordinary use 
of the lot. Any housewife or a boy of the family can, with 
an hour or two time each day, devoted to the industry, 
care for 40 or 80 pairs of breeders, without neglecting 
other duties and, in fact, most people will be greatly bene- 
fited by the outdoor exercise and diversity that would 
come through such a pursuit. 

There is always a local market that can be supplied 
with a few squabs, including hotels, restaurants, hospitals, 
or a private trade which will more than consume the squab 
output of a small plant without much effort on the part 
of the owner. At the present high cost of all meats, it 
would be profitable for most any family to raise as many 
squabs as they could consume; in all cases in addition 
thereto, enough squabs can be sold to more than buy the 
feed and defray other expenses, so that it is easily pos- 
sible for a family to reduce their meat bill materially by 
keeping a few squabs in their own back yard. Most any 
mechanic or laborer, clerk, business or professional man, 
can spare enough time daily to personally take care of 50 
to 100 pairs of squab breeders, which will not only prove 
profitable, but furnish a recreation as well. 

In the winter, when the days are short, a trustworthy 
neighbor boy can generally be found who can be employed 
for a small sura to feed and water the breeders provided 
the owner leaves home before or after dark, and a neighbor 
boy can be secured for a nominal sum to come once or twice 
a week the year round for the purpose of cleaning, white- 
washing or doing similar work. 

Squab raising or caring for a squab plant is really a 
pleasant occupation, especially for those who like to "keep 
busy." There is always something to do and the work is 
not unpleasant. 

12 



WHERE SQUABS CAN BE RAISED 

There is uo offensive odor from a squab plant, and the 
birds do not make enough noise to bother the nearest 
neighbors. Therefore, there can be no serious objection on 
the part of the neighbors to squabs being raised near them. 
It is true that pigeons do a lot of cooing, and while it 
sounds loud at close range, the noise does not carry very 
far, and cannot be heard, to any extent, 50 feet from a 
squab plant. A large plant can be easily maintained in 
the suburbs in any town or city about as profitably as it 
can be in the country. 

There are some advantages to be gained by having a 
squab plant in the country, that is, on a farm, but there 
are other advantages in a town or city squab plant, and 
to some degree one offsets the other. As an example, 
ground space in the country is no item. Some special feeds 
can be raised to an advantage and other foods can often 
be purchased in the country cheaper than in town, but on 
the other hand, the conveniences of city water, the advan- 
tage of a close market and shipping facilities will offset 
many of the farm advantages and conveniences. 

I have often heard people make the remark that if they 
lived in the country, where they could raise their own feed, 
they would go into the squab business extensively. They 
did not stop to figure that there was very little advantage 
to be gained by such a method, for the reason that all kinds 
of grain and pigeon feed can be sold or purchased at the 
fnarket price, and if one raises his own feed it has only a 
market value. That is to say, if Jones raises squabs and 
grain, the amount of grain that he feeds his birds sliould 
be charged up against his birds, and credited to grain, for 
he could have sold his grain on the market, and taken the 
same money and bought grain from a neighbor with which 
to feed his squabs. The two businesses, therefore, are sep- 
arate industries. Of course, if grain is used on a farm 
where it is raised, the expense of delivery is eliminated, 
and it is possible to raise a particular kind especially for 
pigeons to an advantage over purchasing it, on account of 
freight charges and middleman's profit. One of the great- 
est assets to a squab plant located on a farm is the fact 
that a farmer could in many cases use an extra hand if he 
was raising squabs as a part of his business ;_ while with- 
out the squab plant he would not have sufficient work to 
justify an extra hand, and the man with a squab plant 
would also not have sufficient work to justify an extra 
hand. As an example, chickens require careful attention 
in the morning and night, especially during the hatching 
and brooding season. Pigeons can be cared for any time 
during the day, so a chicken raiser could breed squabs to 

an advantage. 

13 



Probably the best way for one to calculate the most 
suitable place to raise squabs is to reckon from his present 
position, and then change his location and vocation the 
smallest degree possible to enable him to embark in the 
squab industry on a scale his experience and convenience 
will permit, and then change his location and vocation as 
the growth of the scpiab industry demanded. 



WHEN TO START IN THE SQUAB BUSINESS 

Josh Billings wrote that "the time to set a hen was 
when the hen was ready." Pigeons breed the year round. 
There is nothing therefore to be gained in waiting for a 
certain time of the year to start. It seems to be natural 
for every person to want to undertake some outdoor work 
in the spring of the year. All nature seems to be awake 
at that period, and the human body and mind is no ex- 
ception, and for that reason more people start raising 
squabs in the spring than any other season. I know no 
other reason for so doing, and there is no advantage to be 
gained by starting one month over another. Squabs bring 
more money in the winter than during the summer months, 
so if it is going to be a question of raising birds for mar- 
ket, the fall would be as good a time as any, but if the 
start is made at any other time, the advantages of the 
winter market would be enjoyed just the same. I would 
say therefore that the time to enter the squab business is 
now, and the place, with a few exceptions, is your present 
location. 



RAISING SQUABS FOR HOME CONSUMPTION 

More and more each year, as people become more 
familiar with raising squabs and the value of squab meat 
becomes better known, small squab plants are being estab- 
lished by many who do not enter the business from the 
money making standpoint, but merely for supplying squabs 
for their own use. 

There are many people who are situated so they can- 
not raise chickens and so have never given it a thought 
that they might have a few pigeons, as they require no 
yard or range as chickens do. They are not offensive or 
objectionable, and a few pair can be kept by most anyone 
living in a city, even in a flat where the ground space and 
back yard is limited. 

A squab dinner is considered a luxury, yet it can be 
had once or twice a week at a small weekly expense, and 

14 



the work of caring for them be made so interesting that it 
is a recreation and a pleasure. 

The average standard bred squab will make a meal for 
a grown person. A pair of standard squab producers will 
produce two squabs every six weeks. Six pairs, therefore, 
will average two squabs every week. By the size of your 
family and how frequently you desire them, you can de- 
termine the number of pairs it will be necessary for you 
to keep in order to supply your demand. 

Those who are fortunate enough to live in small towns 
or in the country, where the}^ have ample room for such 
things, can easily keep a few producing pigeons, raise 
enough squabs for their own use and supply a few neigh- 
bors, if they so desire, and use the proceeds to pay their 
feed bills and take care of other expenses. 

Lawyers, merchants, bankers, clerks, doctors and, in 
fact, anyone whose time is occupied indoors, can secure a 
lot of recreation in caring for a few pigeons at home and 
at the same time make it profitable and secure a food prod- 
uct that cannot well be secured otherwise. 

An elaborate or expensive place is not necessar}^ for a 
small plant. The corner of a barn or portion of a chicken 
house, or even a space in a garage, can be utilized for this 
purpose. If a person desires, he can build a fancy and 
artistic place for pigeons in the side yard. 




A FANCY FLY PEN 



15 



HOW TO START 

There are two ways to start in the squab business. With 
a few pairs in a back yard or immediately start with sev- 
eral hundred pairs, with substantial houses and ground 
room to run a good sized plant. If you go into the busi- 
ness with a few pairs, you should, as near as practical, 
follow the same methods, adopt the same equipment, and 
pay as much attention proportionately as you would if you 
had a large plant with several thousand birds. In this way 
you will establish yourself in a way that when your plant 
grows you will know just how to expand and successfully 
operate it. In outlining, therefore, the way to start 
and the essential things to do, I will only vary where it 
will be necessary to explain the difference between the 
buildings and ground requirements for a large plant and 
a small one. If you are going to start with a few pairs> 
you' should first prepare a suitable place for your birds. 
Carefully survey the premises to determine the most prac- 
tical place available, always remembering that there is a 
right and a wrong as well as a best way to do everything, 
and that this applies to the squab business on both a large 
and a small scale. A section of most any building will do 
for a nest room. A chicken house, barn loft, a garage or an 
attic will do to start with. A south or east exposure is 
the best. The place should be thoroughly cleaned, made 
rat proof and where cats can not get in. A floor space 
4x6 feet is about as small as can be used with any degree 
of satisfaction, and if convenient a larger space should be 
provided. An 8x10 room, however, is about as large as can 
be used to advantage, as a larger room than that will tend 
toward making the birds wild, and especially so if the ceil- 
ing is high enough to permit the birds to fly over your 
head. The space allotted off for the birds should be en- 
closed in solid walls, unless by so doing it will make it too 
hot or dark. A wire partition in part or in whole will do, 
but the better plan is to put a small window in for light 
and air. If a wire partition is used, one-inch mesh 
chicken wire will keep rats out, where a two-inch mesh 
will not. You may figure that any old box will do for 
nests, but you might just as well start right and the way 
to do that is to put in a few double nests and do everything 
else properly. More people fail in the squab business be- 
cause they give it too little thought and attention than 
from all other causes combined. You should have a double 
nest for each pair to start with and a few extra nests 
will do no harm. Next you should make a feed and grit 
box and a nesting material rack. (See article on these sub- 
jects in this book.) Drinking water and a place to 
bathe should also be provided. (See article on same.) 

16 



This will complete the inside of the house, after which you 
should construct a fly pen. A small wire enclosure a few 
feet square with wire overhead as well as on the sides will 
do for the birds to air and sun themselves. The fly pen 
need not be built on the ground ; if not the bottom of the 
pen should be covered with sand or fine gravel. (See 
article, Care of Fly Pen.) If this is not practical, a good 
sized, low, flat box should be provided and kept full of 
fresh gravel. 

This box can be kept in the nest room or fly pen. One 
or more running boards should be put up so the birds will 
have a place to light and sit while in fly pen. The proper 
construction of fly pens can be found herein. In the 
meantime you can begin to look around for some birds. 
The kind to buy depends something on the amount of money 
you have for that purpose, but you should bear in mind 
that if you start with inferior birds you will raise that 
kind, and the little extra paid for good birds over poor 
ones will come back many times over in both number of 
birds bred and quality. For full information read article 
on Carneaux and other breeds. It will be hard for a 
person with little or no experience to secure good 
breeders. About the surest way to do it is to pay a 
fair price to some reliable breeder. It does not make much 
difference if the birds you get are not mated, just so they 
are old enough to mate and you get an equal number of 
males and females, as they will mate up and go to work 
promptly if you have favorable conditions. If you wish 
to start on a large scale, you should first find a suitable 
place for a squab plant. 

If you conclude to enter the squab business on a large 
scale from the start, I would suggest that you proceed about 
as follows: First decide on a location. The squab plant 
should be within a reasonable distance of a railroad station, 
where feed can be received and squabs shipped. Of course, 
the distance from market has something to do with the 
profits of the business, but as freight rates on feed is as 
high as express rates on squabs, in proportion to the 
amount consumed and sold, it is about as well to be near 
the supply of feed as the squab market. As a rule, the best 
section to enter the business is where you happen to be 
located. 

For each 40 pairs of squab breeders it requires a ground 
space 8 feet wide and 26 feet long, 208 square feet, or about 
21/2 square feet to the bird. This allows for the Eggleston 
regulation or squab house, making the nest rooms 8x10 feet 
square, and a 4x8 feet aisle in front, and an 8x12 feet fly 
pen. A 3-foot aisle and an 8x10 fly pen will do, if you 
are short of ground space. 

For each 10 unit plant, it will take a ground space 

2 17 



26x80, which will house and care for 400 pairs of birds. 
To this should be added enough space for a feed and kill- 
ing house. With a small plant, one can store his feed in 
the aisle or passage way, or can even provide a small bin 
in the aisle for feed purposes, but with a large plant it is 
necessary to have a feed room, and also a killing room, 
either separate or together. These rooms can be built in 
connection with the squab house, or a separate building can 
be constructed for that purpose. 

I think the best plan is to build the feed room in con- 
nection with the squab house, so that it will not be neces- 
sary to go out of doors in order to carry feed to the birds. 
A good plan is to leave one or tw^o units vacant in the center 
of a squab house for this purpose, with a door entering 
from the rear, and doors leading into the aisle or passage 
way to the birds on either side. Regular grain bins should 
be built around the walls of the feed room, and they should 
be mice and rat proof. A large convenient bin should be 
arranged for mixing the grain. The mixing place should 
be large enough to permit the use of a hoe or a scoup shovel 
for stirring or mixing purposes. 

For the general plan and how to construct squab houses 
and arrange a squab plant complete, see articles in this 
book on The Construction of Squab Houses and Fly Pens, 
Nest Boxes, Mating Coops, Feed Boxes, Grit Boxes, To- 
bacco Stem Crates, Bathing Troughs and Water System, 
which articles are accompanied by illustrative drawings 
that can be followed by a carpenter, or if you live east of 
the Rocky Mountains, you can secure ready built squab 
houses and equipment complete probably cheaper than you 
could build it. See ad. in back of this book. This is not 
written as a boost for the sale of these articles, but for the 
benefit of the reader. 

In the meantime, you should arrange for the purchase 
of your breeding stock. There are a number of reliable 
breeders throughout the country that can furnish good 
birds at a fair price. I would advise against starting 
in with anything but first class breeders, regardless of the 
number of birds that you would start with. I would also 
advise that you determine on the best breed in advance and 
stick to that breed, and not be trying out several different 
kinds, until you are sure that some other breed is better 
than the one that you have, which would be time enough to 
change. 

It will not be necessary for you to buy enough pairs 
to fill your plant, for you can allow your young birds to 
accumulate until you have a full supply of breeders. You 
will not save as much, however, on this method as you 
might anticipate, for the reason that if you start to selling 
squabs immediately you can make enough money from the 

18 



sale of squabs in six months' time to buy additional breed- 
ing stock, and the birds that you raise will not go to work 
much before eight or ten months, depending upon the time 
of the year they are hatched. So from a financial stand- 
point, it is practically just as well, or it might be better to 
buy all your breeders outright, and not depend upon raising 
breeding stock, as this is a liranch of the business that re- 
quires special knowledge to handle successfully. 

All the birds that you might raise would not be good 
breeders. You would undoubtedly have more males than 
females, and the expense of feeding the youngsters from 
the time they left the nest until they mate and go to work, 
added to the extra expense of care, and the loss due to an 
excess of males, will be about as much as new stock would 
cost, taking in consideration what you could have received 
for the birds had you sold them as squabs. Some of the 
largest squab breeders in the country buy enough breeding 
stock annually to replace the birds that have outlived their 
usefulness, rather than to go to the trouble and expense 
of raising their own breeding stock. Such men figure that 
they are in the squab business wholly and make the most 
out of that branch of the industry. 



SQUAB HOUSES FOR SMALL PLANTS 

A squab house for a small plant can be arranged at a 
small expense and a small temporary place will produce 
fairly good results. I recommend the double nest system, 
however, even if there are only two pairs to be provided 
for. A corner in a barn loft, chicken house, garage, or most 
any outbuilding can be partitioned off with wood or wire 
and converted into a nest room with little expense. It is 
advisable, however, to have the birds where they will get 
some light, fresh air and not too hot in summer. Pigeons 
can stand considerable heat or cold, but they do not work 
near as fast in close warm rooms, and if their place is too 
open or cold, eggs are apt to freeze, especially in a climate 
where they have zero weather. Artificial heat is not neces- 
sary and, in fact, it is a disadvantage. Pigeons will gen- 
erate enough heat from their bodies to keep their eggs and 
young warm, provided their nests are not exposed too much 
to the weather. A few birds can be kept nicely and will 
do fairly well without a fly pen, if they are confined in a 
building where they have plenty of light and air. 

The same general plan should be followed with a small 
or temporary house as with a large one. (See articles 
"Squab Houses for Large Plant" and "How to Build a 
Squab House.") 

19 



PIGEON HABITS AND CHARACTERISTICS 

There are over 200 different varieties of pigeons, rang- 
ing in size from one-half to two pounds each. 

There are four general classes of pigeons: Racing, 
fancy, utility and common. 

Pigeons mate or pair off one female to each male. 

Pigeons mate when about five to eight months old and 
stay so mated for life unless separated. 

Any male pigeon will mate with any female pigeon if 
shut up together or put to themselves. 

Pigeons lay two eggs and then go to setting; the sec- 
ond egg being laid the second day after the first is laid. 

It takes seventeen days' incubation for pigeon's eggs 
to hatch. 

Pigeons build their own nests, like birds, carrying the 
straws to the nest one by one, and weaving them in place 
with their bills. 

The male pigeon carries the nesting material to the fe- 
male and she sits on the nest and arranges the straws in 
place. 

The male, as well as the female pigeon, sits on the eggs. 
The male relieves the female on the nest from about 10 
to 4 each day, and the female sits on the eggs the balance 
of the time. 

Pigeons " continue to sit on the nest for several days 
after the young hatch out, to keep them from chilling. 
This is necessary even in warm w^eather. 

Most pigeons lay and raise young the year around, lay- 
ing again each time when their young are about two and 
one-half weeks old. 

Pigeons feed their young by first eating grain and 
drinking water, then they fly to the nest and by a pump- 
ing or belching motion the feed is transferred to the crop 
of the young. 

Until a squab is several days' old, it is too young to 
swallow^ regular food, so the old bird feeds them pigeon 
milk, a peculiar mixture that accumulates in the crops of 
the old birds after they have set on eggs 16 days. 

Pigeon milk develops in the crop of the male bird as 
well as the female, although he serves less hours on the 
nest. 

Squabs (young pigeons) do not leave the nest until 
they can fly, which is from four to five weeks after hatched, 
when they are fully feathered and about as large as their 
parents. 

Squabs cannot eat, and do not learn to feed themselves 
until after they leave the nest. 

20 



Pigeons do not roost on perches or anything round. 
Their feet are flat and they prefer a flat surface to sit or 
stand on. 

Pigeons do not eat meat, they live on grain principally, 
but eat a little grass or lettuce leaves in the spring and 
summer. 

Pigeons do not drink like a chicken, but more like a 
horse. They require lots of clean fresh water. 

Pigeons do not scratch in the dirt like chickens, but 
depend on what they can find to eat on top of the ground 
in plain sight. 

Pigeons do not dust themselves as chickens do, but take 
a water bath instead, like canary birds. 

Pigeons shed their baby feathers when about three 
months old, then, like all other fowls, molt in the fall of 
each year, when they get an entire new coat of feathers. 

Pigeons live to 12 or 15 years old or older, but are not 
active producers of squabs after 8 to 10 years of age. In 
fact, they slow up after 6 years of age. 




MALE AND FEMALE 



21 



PIGEONS WITH CHICKENS 

Pigeons can be raised in conjunction with chickens with 
little or no disadvantage to either, provided nests and other 
necessary arrangements are properly taken care of. 

Chickens are so much larger and stronger and faster 
eaters that the two cannot be fed together, for if they do 
the pigeons will not get all that is coming to them in the 
way of feed. Therefore, if they are kept in the same en- 
closure, the feed for the pigeons wall have to be provided 
in a place that the chickens cannot get to. This can be 
arranged by either having the feed on a platform up out 
of the range of the chickens or in a small wire or slat en- 
closure with the entrance large enough only to admit 
pigeons. 

The best plan is to have the nesting rooms separate and 
the fly pens and run-way together. Then have the entrance 
to the pigeons' nest room so small and high-up that the 
chickens cannot get to it. Chickens can with this arrange- 
ment be fed so that they can scratch for their feed and 
pigeons can be fed in their nest room, which is the best 
place to feed on account of keeping the feed where it will 
not be exposed to the weather. 

The nesting for pigeons kept in connection with chickens 
should be so arranged that the hens cannot get into the 
pigeons' nests, for if they do they will trample 'and break 
the eggs and do other damage. 

An old hen with little chickens is especially apt to fight 
a pigeon if she is not used to them being around. The old 
hen seemingly takes the pigeon to be a hawk and will 
flounce on it with murder in her heart, often catching and 
killing or crippling the pigeon without its even having an 
opportunity to fly out of the way. 



22 



RAISING PIGEONS FOR PLEASURE 



Aside from the money to be made from breeding squabs, 
the employment it will furnish and the outdoor recreation, 
there is so much about pigeons and their habits, men and 
women, also boys and girls, can become so intensely inter- 
ested in pigeons and the work of breeding them that it 
will become a pleasure. This is especially true when there 
is a fixed purpose to accomplish along the line of breed- 
ing; the Carneaux. for instance, will require some study 
according to the adopted standard, and it can only be made 
more perfect by careful mating and selection, together with 
the skill which comes from a scientific study of the birds. 

You will note by same that certain colors and types, in- 
cluding shape of head, neck, eyes, etc., together with a cer- 
tain carriage, is necessary. Carneaux collectively have all 
these qualities, and to get the larger number of them in 
one bird is a very interesting work and furnishes a certain 
H mount of pleasure and satisfaction. 




ORNAMENTAL SQUAB HOUSE AND FLY PEN 
23 




GROUND FLOOR PLAN 



ORNAMENTAL SQUAB HOUSE FOR SIDE 
OR FRONT YARD 



An ornamental squab house can be constructed and 
placed in a side or front yard in a way that will be very at- 
tractive and ornamental to the premises. 

There are several ways that such houses can be built, 
but about the most practical and easiest to construct is as 
follows : Made in octagon shape, five or six feet across, six 
feet high to the eaves, with a pointed roof and wide bunga- 
low eaves, surrounded with a \\'ire octagon shape fly pen, 
a part of which can be made of lattice work. 

The fly pen should be 12 or 14 feet across, which will 
leave a space of three or four feet around the building. 
The fly pen can almost entirely encircle the building or run 
on three sides only. 

The door of the building can have a sash in it which 

24 



will furnish sufficient light or it is a good idea to have two 
or three small windows of ornamental design. 

The inside of the house can be equipped with four sec- 
tions of double nests and will accommodate anywhere from 
12 to 30 pairs of birds. 

Such a house can be painted and trimmed to correspond 
with the other buildings on the premises. Dark bungalow 
green with a red roof and trimmed with white makes an 
attractive color combination. 




</ / / / ! I ! 



\ \. \ \ \ ^-. 



/ 

INTERIOR VIEW OF OCTAGON SHAPED SQUAB HOUSE 



25 



SQUABS HELP TO SOLVE THE MEAT 
PROBLEM 

The rapid decrease of the supply of meat in the United 
States, coupled with the rapid increase of the price of meat, 
the former being the principal cause of the latter, is a prob- 
lem that will have to be met sooner or later, or the people 
of America will, like Europeans, be forced to go without 
meat except on Sunday or rare occasions. 

Our population is increasing about two million a year 
and the annual decrease in beef cattle, caused by the set- 
tling of the western grazing land, goes into the millions. 
The game in America once so plentiful is about extinct, and 
as time goes on these conditions will increase more rapidly 
and will be more noticeable each year. 

Viewing the meat question and squab raising from a 
broader standpoint, the time is rapidly coming when large 
squab plants are going to be found in every section of this 
country, as the public learn more of the value of squab 
meat, its delicious flavor and its cost when comparing its 
nutritiousness with that of other meats, squab meat will be- 
come more and more in demand, while the squab industry 
has made rapid strides in America in the past few years 
and grown to an enormity beyond the apprehension of its 
most enthusiastic supporters. It is in fact only in its in- 
fancy and in a very few years people will wonder why 
squabs were not eaten in larger numbers before. Pound 
for pound, there are few meats, if any, that are more 
palatable, nutritious and helpful to the human sys- 
tem than squab meat. The leading physicians of the 
country are prescribing and recommending squab meat. 
It is strengthening and easy to digest. The old birds eat 
nothing but grain, the meat is rich with carbon hydrates 
and protein. The rapid growth of a squab from an egg 
to a pound of meat in four weeks makes its meat tender and 
void of the tough indigestible cells found in other meats. 
The taste for squabs is not a developed one, once eaten 
alwavs liked. 



26 



THE GROWTH OF A SQUAB 

Pigeons mate and start to raising squabs between the age 
of five and eight months. They lay two eggs only at a time, 
the first egg generally being laid in the morning and the 
next egg the third morning thereafter, there being no egg 
laid the second day. After the second egg is laid, they 
immediately go to setting. If the weather is extremely cold 
the mother bird will hover the first egg sufficiently enough 
to keep from freezing, but not enough to start incubation 
until the second egg is laid; thus the hatching of the two 
eggs takes place about the same time. It takes seventeen 
days for pigeon eggs to hatch after the pigeon starts to set. 
As explained elsewhere, the male bird takes his turn daily 
on the nest with the female. 

When squabs are first hatched, they are very tender 
and delicate, more like a baby than a chicken from the 
standpoint of being helpless. The parent birds cover their 
young ones for several days after they are hatched to keep 
them from chilling even in warm weather, and for a longer 
period in cold weather. Until a sfjuab is four or five days 
old it cannot take grain into its crop, and is fed a gruel- 
like substance called pigeon milk that forms in the crop 
of the parent birds after they have been setting about 15 
days. Then the parent birds begin to feed them small 
grain, which is always mixed wdth a good portion of water, 
keeping the young ones' crops well filled at all times. The 
young birds grow very rapidly. 

A pigeon egg is about the size of a hickory-nut, a squab 
four days old is twice the size of a hickory-nut, and when 
a week old is as large as a hen's egg or small chicken. They 
continue to double in size about every week, until they are 
as large as the old bird at four and one-half weeks old. 
When a squab is first hatched it is covered with a very fine 
doMTi like a small chicken, pin feathers start in its wings 
and tail and along the top of its back immediately. At 
two weeks of age it is well covered with pin feathers, and 
the feathers are developed to such an extent that its color 
can be fairly well determined. At four weeks old it is 
feathered out almost completely with a little bare space 
on its side under its wings. When the bare space under 
the wings is covered with feathers, then the squab is old 
enough to kill, and if not killed it will soon leave the nest. 
Squabs do not leave the nest or fly until they are four and 
a half or five weeks old, and they cannot feed themselves 
until after that age. Once a squab leaves the nest it starts 
to getting poor, which is caused by exercise and the lack 
of being stuffed with food by its parents. A squab should 
be killed and marketed before it leaves the nest. It begins 
to get tough and is not very good to eat after five weeks 

of age. 

27 



The quick mush-room growth and the lack of exercise 
is what makes squab meat so tender and delicious. Some 
breeders have classified squabs by giving them different 
names at different ages. They are first called peepers, as 
they make a small peeping noise about the time they are 
ten days old; they are next called squeakers until they 
are two or three weeks old, then squealers until they are 
four weeks old, when they are called squabs. These names 
are taken from the noise that a squab makes. They first 
peep, then squeak, then squeal when they are hungry and 
wish to be fed, and will keep up the squealing noise until 
seven or eight weeks old. 

Squabs have a larger beak than old pigeons, and this 
furnishes a good means of distinguishing squabs from old 
birds. Until they are eight to ten weeks old the beak is 
very soft and appears large. One reason for this is the 
lack of feathers around the beak, which grow down as the 
bird gets older. 



HOW TO TELL MALE FROM FEMALE 

With most breeds of pigeons, the male is a little larger 
than the female. He has a coarser look, thicker neck and 
larger legs and feet. These differences can only be readily 
noticed by comparison or by those who are not only 
familiar with pigeons, but with that particular breed. The 
age of the birds must be recorded. An old female is apt 
to be taken for a young male if one is judging by looks only 
or comparing two males or two females of different age. 
In such a case they are apt to pick the old bird for the 
male and the younger for the female. As a rule the male 
is more muscular, stronger and masculine. The best 
method to use, however, to tell the sex is to watch the birds 
in their everyday life. 

There are a lot of ways that I can tell the female from 
the male that it would be difficult for me to fully explain. 
For instance, they drink and eat differently. The differ- 
ence is so slight that you can only learn it by experience 
in watching them. A male will fly a little different than 
a female, on special occasions. Their general carriage and 
actions in the fly pen and loft are different, all of which 
is hard to describe, but can be detected if you will give 
the matter careful study and attention. Here are some of 
the most common ways of distinguishing the sexes : the 
female bird can be found on the nest when she has eggs 
or small squabs early in the morning, late in the afternoon, 
or at night. The male is on the nest between 9 or 10 
o'clock and 3 or 4 o'clock, except during the laying 

28 



period, when the female is apt to be on the nest any time 
during the day. The male carries the straws to build the 
nest with, and the female sets on the nest and arranges 
them in order. The male will usually get in the nest box 
and call its mate by long, cooing, monotone sounds, when 
they are mating up, or just prior to building a nest. A 
male will fight quicker and harder than a female. A male 
will whirl clear around when he is cooing on the floor or 
in the fly pen, while the female, if she coos at all, will not 
turn over a quarter or half way round. A male will strut 
along after another bird, coo and drag his tail on the 
ground, walking around m a proud, prancing way, with 
his head up and neck swelled out. A female will do very 
little strutting and will carry her body more horizontally 
as she struts, and Avill do very little cooing. The feathers 
on the end of the male's tail are generally worn out and 
the feathers on the female's tail are usually in perfect 
condition. This is caused by the male dragging his tail 
on the ground when strutting and, as a rule, is a very good 
means of telling the sex. After a pair of pigeons have 
become mated, they will be found together more or less 
until they lay and go to setting. They generally start to 
building a nest several days before they lay and during 
that time they do a lot of spooning, lovemaking or kissing. 
Here again the male bird can be distinguished from the 
female by its actions. The male bird will pick behind one 
wing at intervals during the billing process. The male 
bird then opens his mouth or beak, in which the female 
inserts her beak, and the two go through a pumping like 
motion. This is called kissing. Billing is another term 
for kissing. If a male bird wants to kiss, and the female 
is not particular, he will walk around picking himself be- 
hind the wing and working his throat like he w^as swal- 
lowing something. If a female wants to kiss and the male 
is indisposed, she will run up to his side, and stretch her 
head up to his, fumbling around his beak and over his head 
with her beak. The male seems to enjoy this and will often 
sit down and shut his eyes, while the female keeps up her 
fondling. 

There are several old-fashioned tests for determining 
the sex of pigeons, but I have never found any of them very 
dependable. It is said that if you catch a female round 
the body, holding her wings down to her body with both 
hands, then throw the hands up and down, she will throw 
her tail up, while the male held in the same position and 
with the same movement will throw his tail down. Another 
test is made in the dark vrith. a candle or lamp. The male 
is supposed to look directly at the light and the female to 
one side. All such tests more or less remind me of the 
fellow who said he positively could tell a male from a 

29 



female by throwing some hemp in where the bird was. 
Then, if he ate the hemp, it was a he, and if she ate it, it 
was a she. 

A fairly good sex test is to feel of the vent bones. On 
the male they are generally very close together, and on the 
female they are separated, one-half inch or more. This test 
applies better with birds a year old or more, or after they 
have start (h1 to lay. The vent bones of a female are sep- 
arated enongh to permit the laying of an egg. The habits 
of the male and female are very different and by a little 
experience, study and close observation it becomes rather 
easy to distinguish one from the other. 



HOW PIGEONS MATE 

Pigeons will mat(; up and go to raising s(iuabs under 
almost any conditions. Naturally, they will mate up and 
do better under favorable conditions than otherwise. 

Almost any male or female pigeon will mate with al- 
niost any other male or female, regardless of size, color or 
kind, provided, of course, they are given an opportunity 
to mate by shutting them up together, or putting them in 
a pen where there are no otiier unmated birds. If ten, 
twenty or more females are put into a pen with an equal 
number of males, in lime there will be as many mated pairs 
as there are nuiles and females com])ined in tiie pen. That 
is to say, if 20 males put in with 20 females and 19 of each 
mated, the twentieth male and twentieth female would then 
mate, there being no other odd birds in the pen for them 
to mate with. As a matter of fact, pigeons do very little 
choosing when it comes to selecting mates. The time, place, 
and condition of the birds lias more to do with their pair- 
ing up than any particular attraction that one bird might 
have for another bird of the opposite sex. 

For instance, if a male has no place to take a mate, he 
is not apt to want a mate, but if he has a home, so to speak 
(a place to build a nest that he considers his private prop- 
erty), he will protect that place from all other birds, and 
it will be his natural prolific instinct to secure a mate and 
go to housekeeping. When he is in this mood, he will go 
to his nesting box, or place he controls, and call for a 
female by successive long, cooing sounds. lie will keep 
this up for hours at a time. If there is an unmated female 
in the pen, such cooing is "sweet music to her ears," and 
will attract her to the nest or place where the male is. She 
will tind liim in a squatting position, and generally slightly 
flapping or quivering one wing, as he coos or calls. To 
signify her willingness to mate, she will fly up to the en- 

30 



trance of the nest with her wings slightly held out from her 
body after alighting, with her neck feathers puffed out, 
which gives her, as a whole, a very mild and pleasing ap- 
pearance. While the male is anxious for a female to come, 
he, nevertheless, considers her an intruder, as far as his 
house is concerned, and, therefore, at tirst he will not let 
her come into th(^ nest ])ox or get too familiar on his prem- 
ises, and will fight her away vigorously, and then go l)ack 
and resume his calling. The female, not to be discouraged, 
will return again and again, until finally the nuile will let 
her come into the nesting box, which place she will enter, 
strutting and prancing in a very sprightly manner. She 
will rush right in almost on top of the male and pick him 
on the head and neck. For a time he will chaser her away 
and then finally su])mit. If they are not disturlx'd or sep- 
arated at this point, they will soon consider themselves 
mated, but the courtship and lovemaking does not end 
here. 

Newly mated pairs can be found at almost any hour, for 
several days after they have mated, scjuatting together in 
the nesting place ; the male now having changed his long 
loud coos to short, low tones, uttercMl in quick succession. 
The female will also coo a little dui-ing this period, but her 
cooing is not as loud or as coarse as the male. The same 
lovemaking will take place each time Ixd'ore a nest is built 
for a new setting of eggs and squabs, but only for short 
periods. Like people, their longest honeymoon is at the 
start. 

If the female that ha.s no mate and does not hear any 
calling or long cooing, she will signify her desire to nuite 
by prancing up and down wdth her wings spread away 
from her body, slightly, and now and then strutting with 
her tail on the ground. She will show those signs particu- 
larly strong as slie lights aft(>r short flights from one place 
to another. Males that already have mated will be at- 
tracted by this flirtation, and often take advantage of the 
opportunity to court unmated females when they see them 
strutting around in this fashion. While the male does not 
intend to permanently mate with the female, she does not 
seem to know this, and takes him to be sincere (human 
nature). Sometimes a male will become so fascinated and 
interested wifh his new prospective spouse, that he will 
desert his regular mate even though she might have eggs 
or young s(iuabs. In fact, such a condition is more apt to 
happen if she has, for the reason that if she is on eggs 
she does not see him ; otherwise, if she is there on the spot, 
and sees what is going on, she will immediately interfere 
and give Miss Flirting Female a good picking; but, strange 
to say, she does not seem to blame her mate, and lays all 
the blame on the weaker sex. If there is an odd male in 

31 



the pen, he is apt to cause considerable damage, especially 
if he has secured a nest and has worked laboriously for sev- 
eral days trying to entice some prospective mate to his 
home. Then he will change his tactics, by the rule that 
might makes right, and proceeds to try and win him a 
mate by his physical power. If he can succeed in whipping 
some other male away from his nest, breaking up the fam- 
ily, it is possible for him to secure a mate in that way ; but 
by his undertaking, he generally only succeeds in breaking 
eggs, killing young squabs and wearing out himself and his 
antagonist, without getting the female to desert her former 
mate. The female will invariably contribute to the defense 
of her home, and try to protect her young ones. It is not 
desirable, therefore, to have either odd females or odd males 
in a loft of working birds. It is better to have an even 
number of males and females, for invariably they will find 
each other and mate up. The best mating plan is to take 
an equal number of odd males and females, and shut them 
up together until they mate, and then turn them in with 
the regular mated birds. As stated previously, a male can 
be mated with almost any female, regardless of color, size 
or kind ; so if you desire to mate any particular male with 
any particular female, all that is necessary is to shut them 
up together for a few days. Of course, they should be given 
food, water and grit during that time, and should have a 
place where it would be possible for them to make a nest. 
Large space, however, is not necessary. A small coop with 
two or three square feet of floor space is all that is needed. 
The mating coop should be sufficiently ventilated, yet free 
from drafts, as birds will catch cold quicker shut up in a 
small place than in an open room. 

The statement that any pigeon will mate with most any 
other pigeon does not mean that I sanction or believe in 
the plan of crossing breeds. On the contrary, I am very 
much opposed to crossing breeds, as it is not practical to 
create new breeds, and mongrels generally inherit the in- 
ferior qualities of both parents. Elsewhere in this book, 
will be found an article on this subject. 



82 



HOW TO KEEP AN EQUAL NUMBER OF 
MALES AND FEMALES 

One of the difficulties of a squab plant is to keep down 
the percentage of extra cocks, which accumulate in excess 
of females for various reasons. In this respect nature 
seems to be at fault, for there is not a single exception in 
favor of the life of a female over the life of a male. 

If one egg fails to hatch, invariably it is the female egg. 
If a young squab gets trampled to death in the nest, it is 
usually the smallest one, which is generally the female. The 
male and the larger squabs crowd the small ones away at 
feeding time and in such cases the larger squabs continue 
to grow and get strong and the small ones stand back and 
sometimes starve to death. 

Females are more delicate and subject to colds and this 
oftentimes causes their death. They are often driven so 
hard by the males that they get poor and finally die. The 
natural life of a female is shorter than the life of the male. 

With these things taken into consideration there is 
usually quite a percentage of odd cocks to be disposed of. 
Unless one manipulates and disposes of the male bird as a 
squab by a systematic method, one can guard against the 
production of male birds, which is necessary in order to 
make a squab plant a.s profitable as possible. 

The larger squab in the nest is invariably the male, so 
in taking them out of the nest for market purposes, one 
should save a few of the smaller ones for breeding purposes. 
It is a good plan to band these birds then and there so that 
the next time you are around gathering squabs, you will 
know that the odd squab in the nest is a female. It is hard 
to tell the sex of young birds, especially at squabbing time, 
unless you are familiar with the flock. 

Different flocks of birds have different characteristics 
that enable one to determine the male from the female the 
majority of the time. This is especially true with color 
marking. For instance, all the male birds from a certain 
pair will be marked in a similar way and all the females 
wall also have a separate marking. In such cases it is an 
easy matter to tell the sex of the young birds as soon as they 
get their feathers. 



33 



IN-BREEDING 

The chance of iu-breeding and the danger of harm from 
it is not as great as most people think. To repeatedly mate 
brother with sister, mother with son or father with daugh- 
ter would bring bad results, but an occasional mating of 
this kind, as might occur by chance, will make little or no 
difference and show no ill effect. 

The percentage of chance of close in-breeding is so 
small that it does not pay to guard against it. As an ex- 
ample, with as few as six pairs to start a flock with, there 
would be but one chance in five for a brother to mate with 
sister out of the first lot of youngsters and considerably 
less than that as the flock increased. 

The chance for a parent bird to mate with its daughter 
or son, would be less, as the size of the flock would be much 
larger by the time an old bird would probably die and 
make it necessary for an old bird to get a new mate. 

The fact that a female will mate up about two weeks 
younger, on an average, than a male, reduces the chance 
for brother to mate with sister. This is caused by the 
habits of birds more than by the age that male and female 
mate. A male will generally get a home or a nesting place 
before he gets a mate. In fact, this is generally the \\ay 
he gets a mate (see article on mating), while a female will 
mate up with some older male that has a home to take her 
to about the time her nest brother is thinking of getting a 
home. 




SOLID RED CAKNEAUX— MALE AND FEMALE 



34 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF PIGEONS 

There is said to be over two hundred different kinds 
of breeds of pigeons, all of which are supposed to come 
from the ancient Bock pigeon. The Rock pigeon in its 
wild state has all the habits and characteristics of the 
domestic pigeon. In fact, with the exception that the Rock 
pigeon is uniform in size and color, there is little difference 
between them and the common barnyard pigeon. Darwin 
and other noted men who have studied the origin of 
pigeons, claim that by the method of selection and elim- 
ination, aided by climate and other conditions, various dif- 
ferent breeds have been developed from the Rock pigeon. 
This is borne out by what is possible to accomplish now 
by the same process. There are five radical or extreme de- 
velopment in pigeons, namely : size, shape, color feather 
arrangements and habits. Tw^o, three and sometimes 
four of these peculiarities are found developed in a single 
breed of birds. The English Pouter, for instance, 
is large in size, specially marked as to color. His 
farther arrangement includes long feathers on the legs, 
slender body and crop, and its habit of filling its crop 
with air and prancing around makes a marked differ- 
ence in its habits. A Tumbler is another example of a 
breed with all five distinctions being greatly developed. 
They are extremely small in size, are bred in solid colors, 
have a very short, odd shaped head, are bred with or with- 
out long feathers on the feet and legs, and will turn over 
and over in the air when flying. The Jacobean has its 
feather arrangement especially developed ; so has the Fan- 
tail. The Runt has been developed into the largest breed 
of pigeons. Archangles, Magpies, Sainette, etc., for their 
color. ; Magpies, Pouters, Tumblers, Turbets, etc., for their 
shape, and Tumblers, Pouters and Flying Homers for their 
peculiar habits. The habit of the Homer to return home 
in an air line when liberated, almost regardless of direction, 
distance and time, is probably the most peculiar and re- 
markable of all. 

The most convincing proof that all pigeons were devel- 
oped from a common breed is the fact that the results from 
crossing two or more of these peculiar breeds will produce 
an offspring that will resemble the old Rock bird and a few 
more crosses will take it back to a common barnyard pigeon. 



35 



DIFFERENT BREEDS OF UTILITY PIGEONS 

To give a full history and description of each variety 
of pigeons best adapted for squab breeding would consume 
considerable time and space. I will, therefore, confine my 
remarks to a brief description of the most popular breeds 
of today, which are Carneaux, Homers, Maltese, White 
Kings and Mondaines. I have not included Runts or 
Horneaux, for the reason that while Runts are an extra 
large bird, they do not produce good, fat or meatty squabs, 
and they, as a rule, produce a small number per year. 
There is a dispute as to whether there is such a thing as 
a Horneau. Those that champion the cause of this bird, 
say that it is a distinct breed built to a standard from the 
crossing of several good breeds of squab producers, but the 
exact combination has been forgotten, hence, the only way 
that the bird can be reproduced is from those now in exist- 
ence. They also claim that the bird possesses lots of su- 
perior qualities as an all around squab producer. On the 
other hand, those that disprove the idea and the quality 
of a Horneau, discredit the story of the lost combination 
of breeds, and say that the Horneau is not a good squab 
breeder, and that it is, as previously stated, a runt cross, 
or an inferior runt. 



HOMERS 



The Homer is a bird a little larger than a common 
pigeon, but, owing to their build and feeding qualities, they 
produce squabs almost twice as large as a common squab, 
and a much fatter and better flavored squab. Homers 
come in all colors, black, white, blue, red, dun, silver and 
comingling colors, with blue barred and blue checkered as 
the predominating color. 

By reason of the prolific qualities of the Homer and its 
production of a plump, fat, meaty squab, it stands next to 
the Carneau as a utility pigeon, and if it were not for the 
fact that its squabs are much smaller than the Carneau 
squabs, hence bring less on the market, the Homer would 
stand foremost in the country as a squab producing variety. 
The utility or squab breeding Homers is the same breed 
as the Racing Homer, except one branch of the breed has 
been developed for its homing and fast flying tendencies, 
while the other has been developed for the production of 
squabs. The homing instinct is an objectionable quality 
in a squab producing or utility pigeon, for the reason that 
if liberated they Mall fly away, unless the bird was raised 
at the place liberated. They are not able to find their way 
back home, as is generally presumed, unless they IfiRve been 

36 



trained for that purpose, by first talking tliem a short dis- 
tance from their place of birth and liberating them, then 
a greater distance and greater distance until they will be 
able to return home from a distance of several hundred 
miles. Where squabs are served in cafes, clubs, hotels, etc., 
as a part of a regular meal, but the person who orders a 
squab as a principal part of his meal prefers a larger bird, 
and the same is true with private trade. As there is also a 
ready market for large squabs, and as squabs range in 
price according to the number of pounds they weigh per 
dozen, the natural desire of squab breeders is to produce 
a large bird. The effort has consequently been to try to 
develop a breed that would produce as many squabs as the 
Homer, and at the same time a larger and more valuable 
squab. 




HOMERS 



Homers are very thrifty, hearty good feeders, and make 
splendid mothers. On account of this quality they are 
often kept and used as foster parents for the purpose of 
hatching and raising the young of other breeds. The 
Homer seems to have a wild-like instinct, and is quick to 
fly off its nest and slow to return to it, hence the success- 
ful breeder of Homers must bear this peculiarity in mind 
and manage his pens of Homers in a way not to disturb 
them, and in a way to make them as tame as possible. The 
Eggleston plan of double nests and squab house with 
the aisle in front is especially adapted for this purpose. 
The chief objection to this breed, however, is its small- 
ness in size. But in almost all markets throughout the 
country there is a ready demand for fat, well developed, 
plump, small sized squabs, which the Homer squab will 
supply better than any other breed. Therefore, the 
Homer as a squab producer has its place among squab pro- 
ducing pigeons. 

37 



WHITE KINGS 

Until recently there has been no recognized standard 
for the White King, and there has been no little con- 
troversy as to what constituted the right type, size and 
other qualities of this bird. There has always been a great 
demand for pigeons with a white plumage, princij)ally for 
the reason that they are pleasing to the eye, and as a rule 
their skin and flesh is of a light color, and these particu- 
lar qualities are without a doubt reasons for the establish- 
ment of the breed. From time immemorial, or as far back 
as we have history of pigeons, there has been white pigeons. 

Now the originators of the White King no doubt had 
two primary objects in view, namely, a large white bird 
and one that would produce a goodly number of market- 




WHITE KINGS 



able squabs. The Homer being recognized as a fast squab 
producer, White Homers were selected as the basis of the 
breed, but as the Homer is small, it was necessary to cross 
in a larger breed, so the White Runt has invariably been 
used for this purpose. Before I go further, I will state 
that as far as I know, no particular person originated the 
present breed of White Kings. There was undoubtedly 
some one who originated the idea, and the first person to 
undertake the establishment of such a bird, but there have 
been hundreds and are yet hundreds of people crossing 
different white birds and calling the results White Kings, 
and the two main breeds used to improve the White King 
idea are White Homers and White Runts. 

It has been hard to establish a uniformity and perpetu- 

38 



ate same, for the reason that the ofifsprings seem to per- 
petuate the characteristics of either one or the other of 
the original breed ; that is to say, they will either be fast 
or slow producers of squabs, and the offspring will not be 
uniform in size, the smaller birds proving the best and 
faster squab producers, and the larger birds being less 
prolific, and their squabs of a poorer commercial value. 
To overcome this defect in the breed, many experiments 
have been tri'^d by crossing in other breeds, such as White 
Duchess, White Maltese and various other white breeds, 
including the white common or barnyard pigeon. The 
White Duchess has feathered legs, and the White Maltese, 
as you will notice by its picture, stands with its 
tail very much in the air. The crossing in of these 
breeds, therefore, has produced some feather legs, and 
some birds with Maltese tendency to stand with the tail 
up. I attended a meeting of the Los Angeles Pigeon Club 
a short time back where the question was asked what con- 
stituted a White King. The president of the club asked 
if some one would volunteer the information, and when 
no one responded, he answered the inquiry by saying, a 
White King is a white pigeon, some have feathers on their 
legs, and some have not, which naturally brought forth a 
hearty laugh, and until the recent standard was adopted 
that was about as correct an answer as could be provided. 
The fact that there is an actual demand for white birds, 
a large breed that will produce a large, meaty squab with 
light meat and light skin makes the White King, or White 
King idea, a meritorious one, and in time this bird, like 
the White Plymouth Rock chicken, will no doubt have a 
regular place among utility breeds of pigeons. 



MONDAINES 

What is true of the White King is likewise true of the 
Mondaine, of the smooth head variety, except that there 
are both White Mondaines and colored Mondaines. There 
is a considerable difference of opinion, however, as to what 
actually constitutes a Mondaine pigeon, which are sup- 
posed to come from Switzerland, and as yet, so far as I 
can learn, there is no adopted standard for this breed. The 
name comes from the word mountain, and there are 
pigeons in Switzerland, but no breed of mountain pigeons, 
any more than the domestic chickens found in the Adi- 
rondack Mountains are no different than the domestic 
chickens in any other part of the United States. The name 
sounds well, and I presume that is why it is adopted, but 
Swiss Mondaines do not come from Switzerland, and Swiss 

39 



Mondaines seem to be no different than Mondaines, all of 
which are crosses or made breeds. 

A few years ago there was in America a great demand 
for what was termed large crosses, but as birds of all dif- 
ferent types, colors and qualities come under this head, 
and a majority of them proved inferior from a utility 
standpoint, some crafty breeder changed the name of his 
crosses to Mondaines, and since then many breeders have 
followed the example, until now there is almost a recog- 
nized breed by this name. Some day there will probably 
be a standard of perfection adopted, and no doubt a sub- 
stantial breed built up from the idea, but it will be prac- 
tically the same breed as the White King, except it will 
probably be a little larger and be of all colors. But until 
there is a recognized standard of perfection to work to, 
each breeder or group of breeders will champion different 
ideas and no . one will know what constitutes a real 
Mondaine. 



CRESTED MONDAINES 

I confess my ignorance regarding this breed. I have 
tried to secure information with reference to same, but 
have made but little headway. The bird with a crest called 
Mondaine is a large, fine looking specimen of a pigeon, an 
extra good squab producer while it is active, which is 
chiefly in the spring and summer months. This bird might 
possess lots of qualities from a utility standpoint, but with 
no more direct knowledge or information, this is as far as 
1 can go. 



MALTESE 

The Maltese, or the Maltese Hen Pigeon, as the breed 
is sometimes called, possess many marked qualities neces- 
sary to a good utility bird, chief among which is its large, 
broad, heavy breast and deep keel. There is probably 
more meat on the breast of a Maltese squab than the breast 
of a squab of any other breed. My experience with this 
bird has been limited, but what little experience I have 
had has been very favorable, and I am at a loss to under- 
stand why the breed is not more popular, unless perhaps 
it is not an all the year squab producer. The Maltese 
pigeon that has come under my direct attention seems to 
be late in starting to work after molting in the fall, and 
sometimes would not start until spring; whether this is 
a general characteristic of the birds, I cannot say. They 

40 



are very hearty good feeders, and show many other good 
qualities. They are very bad to tight, however, and, being 
very muscular and possessing lots of strength and dura- 
bility, as well as gameness, they break lot of eggs and do 
lots of damage in a loft when they get to fighting, whicli 




BLACK MALTESE 



might be the weakness of the breed. If so, the weakness 
could be overcome by loft and nest arrangements, which 
would eliminate the cause or desire to fight. They are not 
very good flyers and as a rule prefer to nest on or near 
the floor. 



GARNEAUX 

Nobody seems to know the origin of the Carneau. By 
some it is claimed to be a made or created breed, others 
maintain that it is a separate and distinct breed that has 
been in existence for centuries. Until the last twelve or 
fifteen years, however, the Carneau was little known in 
America. The first birds of this breed imported to this 
country came from Belgium and France, and there is 
claimed to be by some two branches of the breed, namely : 
the Belgian Carneau and the French Carneau, but I am 
strongly of the opinion that a Carneau is a Carneau, whether 
it comes from France or Belgium, at least birds coming 
from both of these countries appear to be just about the 
same. Neither of them, however, are developed to the pres- 
ent American standard, which has been greatly improved 
in the last decade, both from the standpoint of beauty in 
color and type, and its squab producing ability. The 
American Carneau is more uniform in size and color, and 
is a better squab producer. I attribute this to the fact 

41 



that we have specialized on these qualities here in Amer- 
ica, and by the process of selection and elimination have 
gradually built our birds to a higher standard. 

The Carneau in America is popular, because it pos- 
sesses rare quality in the production of extra large, fat, 
plump, well flavored, white meated squabs. Coupled wdth 
this is its rare beauty and color, shape and size, its do- 
mestic and general disposition. The Carneau "wdll do well 
in any climate, from frigid Alaska to the torrid Panama. 
It will adapt itself to almost any condition, and immedi- 
ately start on its perpetuous work of squab raising, which 
seems to be its only aim in life. The natural color of a 
Carneau is rich dark red with white feathers irregularly 
scattered over its body, or a rich buff or golden yellow 
with the same assortment of irregular white feathers, rare 





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SPLASHED CARNEAUX 



exceptions, all red or all j-ellow. The desire of some 
breeders to eliminate the white feathers in a Carneau and 
produce the solid colors has resulted in developing off col- 
ored birds; therefore, we frequently find Carneaux with 
more or less slate or bluish colored feathers on them, this 
off color generally appearing on the bird's rump or under 
its tail. Sometimes, however, the entire feathers will show 
more or less of a muddy or bluish cast.. There is little or 
no advantage to be derived from the color scheme of the 
Carneau. Its main points of quality being its size, which 
should not be too large or too small, its type and squab 
producing qualities. 

The all red or all yellow Carneau is not on an average 
equal to the red and white, or yellow and white, for the 
reason that in order to produce these colors, it has been 
more or less neeessari^ to sacrifice other qualities. Those 

42 



that desire to breed Carneaux for utility and squab pro- 
ducing purposes, strive to maintain the original colors of 
red and white or yellow and white, and leave the produc- 
tion of the all red or all yellow to those who desire to raise 
the Carneau for fancy rather than breeding purposes. Car- 
neaux properly handled become very gentle and tame ; 
they will seldom fly off the nest when the nest room is en- 
tered and, as a rule, you can put your hand under the bird 
without causing them to leave the nest. They are good, 
close, attentive setters, splendid mothers, and will well 
care for and feed extra squabs that are put in their nests 
along with their young. By a little management and care 
the nest can be changed about from one part of the room 
to another without causing them to lea'v'e it, if such a thing 
is desired. They can be separated from their mates and 
re-mated with other birds quickly, and will innnediately go 
to work. They will mate and go to work at an early age, 
and will produce squabs the year round, including the 
molting season, if they receive the proper care and food at 
that time. Personally, I consider the Carneau the king 
of all squab producing pigeons, and regardless of the de- 
velopment of other breeds, I believe that the American 
Carneau will keep abreast or ahead of the utility pigeon. 



THE PROPER WEIGHT FOR CARNEAUX 

It is natural that people should want the largest speci- 
mens when selecting stock from which to raise squabs for 
the market. Therefore, we cannot criticize them for having 
natural ideas even though they might be wrong Avhich is the 
case as applied to Carneaux. The largest Carneaux are 
not the fastest breeders, and do not produce the largest 
squabs. There is a limit to the size of a pigeon and over- 
grown or undersized pigeons, like everything else, are not 
fast breeders and will not reproduce themselves in size. 
This is especially true with Carneaux. The well shaped, 
full breasted, blocky, medium-sized Carneau is by far the 
best squab producer. 

Over sized Carneaux are more than apt to be crossed 
with Runts. The largest breed of pigeons as yet produced 
is the Runt, and it is a slow producer. Therefore, Runt 
blood in a Carneau will slow up their squab producing 
(|ualities. Another thing about the Runt is their squabs, 
while large in frame, are light in weight. They are mostly 
bone and feathers when they are young and are not as 
heavy and have less meat on them than Carneau squabs 
that appear much smaller. 

The larger and over sized Carneau breeders will have 
a tendency to produce large "all bone and feather" squabs 

43 



and few in number, even though they have no Runt blood 
in them and are known to be pure bred Carneaux. 

Mr. J. P. Kinnard covered the question of the proper 
weight of Carneaux when he wrote : 

"While Carneaux are larger than Homers, they are not 
an extra large breed. A pair of typical Carneaux will, 
however, raise more pounds of squabs in a given time than 
any other breed. 

The French standard of perfection, adopted in 1891. 
shows the ideal Carneau in France at that time to vary in 
weight from 500 to 525 grannnes (16:1 to 16f ounces) for 
cocks, and 425 to 450 grammes (14| to 15 ounces) for hens. 
By a careful system of selection, mating and breeding, 
these weights have been considerably increased in Amer- 
ica since that time, and the type consequently enlarged. 

The weights preferred by the standard of perfection, 
adopted hy tlio International Carneau Club of America 




RED AND WHITE SPLASHED CARNEAUX 

some three or four years ago, are seventeen to twenty-three 
ounces for hens, and nineteen to twenty-four ounces for 
cocks, whil the standard afterwards adopted by the North 
American Carneau Club places the maximum weights a 
little higher; yet its president admits in a recent article 
that its standard is too high, and says, as do also the secre- 
taries of both clubs, and nearly all the leading American 
breeders, that the medium sized Carneaux are the best, 
most typical and prolific of the breed. 

The Carneau is a bird of medium weight, and those of 
medium weight are more prolific than those of extra large 
size. Many breeders are, however, spoiling their Carneaux 
trying to get big birds. Some have them crossed with 
Runts and Mondaines, because of the seeming present de- 
mand for extra large birds, which is often the result of 
ignorance as to what size Carneau it takes to product' 

44 



twelve-pound squabs. This is all wrong, for it is useless 
to produce a giant pigeon to the detriment of its breeding 
qualities. This demand for extra large pigeons grew out 
of the misunderstanding of the constant urging of the pro- 
duction of larger squabs, for until recent years the squab 
market was being supplied with six, seven, and eight-pound 
squabs, and in an effort to get away from these small 
weights, this magazine and its writer have repeatedly in- 
sisted on the buying of larger breeders in order to increase 
the size of the squabs generally going to market ; which is 
all right as far as it goes, but there is such a thing as going 
too far, for Carneaux since their advent upon the markets 
of America have been filling this demand to perfection ; 
that is, the right kind of Carneaux; but an eft'ort to pro- 
duce too large a squab will ruin the type of the Carneau 
or any other breed.". 

a' pair of Carneaux that weigh thirty-two to forty 
ounces will produce squabs averaging twelve pounds to the 
dozen, while those weighing forty-two to forty-six ounces 
to the pair will produce squabs averaging fourteen pounds 
to the dozen, and even those weighing thirty-two to thirty- 
eight ounces to the pair will produce squabs averaging ten 
to twelve pounds to the dozen ; the weight of the squabs, 
however, depending on the feeding quality of the parents, 
as well as their size and the quality and variety of the feed. 

It is generally conceded by the leading Carneau 
breeders of America that the eighteen to twenty-two ounce 
Carneau is the best, most typical and productive of the 
breed. 



OBJECTIONS TO CARNEAU CROSSES 

The average beginner in the pigeon business undertakes 
to establish, create (or manufacture might be a better 
word) a squab-producing pigeon according to his own 
architectural designs. Crossing breeds of pigeons is non- 
sensical, even by people who understand what they want to 
accomplish and have an idea as to the results of different 
crossing, for it takes years to develop a hybrid into a bird 
that will perpetuate itself in size, type, color and ((ualities. 
Besides, it refjuires hundreds, yes, thousands, of pigeons, 
a large outlay of capital, ample room and equipment, con- 
stant attention and endless patience. Even with all this 
the outcome is a gamble. How, then, can an inexperienced 
person, with a vague knowledge as to what he wants to ac- 
complish, with a few birds and no equipment, expect to con- 
vert himself, like magic, into a Darwin or a "Pigeon Bur- 
bank"? 

This not only applies to beginners, but often to people 

45 



who have been plodding along for years in the pigeon busi- 
ness with a few birds of first this and that variety. That 
some breeds are better and superior to others goes with- 
out saying, but even an inferior breed, in my opinion, is 
better than newly-created crosses. With the former, one 
at least knows the kind of a bird he has, while vnth the 
latter, it is a continuous grope in the dark. 

Why experiment by crossing other breeds with Car- 
neaux when the Carneau is as good if not the best pigeon 
raised? I have asked many people this question, and this 
is the general run of answer: "We wanted to see what a 
Carneau-Homer or a Carneau- White King or a Carneau- 
some-other-breed would produce." 

In many cases my informants had the result of the cross 
there to show me, and invariably they were much disap- 
pointed with the hybrids produced- Another common 
answer to my question is: "We w^anted to improve our 
stock of this or that breed, so we are crossing the Carneaux 
with them." Other people had, so they said, a few Car- 
neaux that the color was not just what they wanted, so 
threw them into a pen of mixed breeds, and this is their 
reason for crossing. Others were trying to raise a dozen 
or more breeds \Nathout sufficient room to raise one, and 
were allowing these different breeds to cross and recross 
as they pleased. 

The color of a Carneau is very strong, and predomi- 
nates in its offspring when crossed with birds of most any 
other color or breed. For instance, a red and white, or 
even a yellow Carneau, crossed with a white bird of another 
breed will invariably produce a red hybrid with more or 
less blue and slate feathers on it. Often the whole tail will 
be dark blue or almost black, with the rest of the body red 
or a reddish brown. The offspring will, of course, show 
some of the Carneau characteristics besides the red 
feathers, but all such hybrids that I have ever seen re- 
semble their other-than-Carneau ancestors in the shape of 
the head and general type. As an example, the Homer- 
Carneau cross is generally under size, has a flat, snake- 
like Homer head, and a longer bill, but not as thick as the 
Homer bill. A Runt-Carneau cross will have a long body, 
short neck and legs like a Runt, with a Runt tendency to 
drag its wings, while a Carneau-Maltese cross will show up 
just the opposite, with a short body, long neck and legs, 
and a tendency to carry its tail high, a la Maltese. 

All these and other Carneau crosses that I have seen 
are generally red with more or less slate or blue feathers 
on them, and none of them are as good as the pure-bred 
Carneau for squab breeding purposes ; so nothing is gained 
by crossing. 

The common objection to slate or blue feathers on the 

46 



Carneau is uo doubt due to the fact that most Carneau 
crosses have such feathers and, while the presence of slate 
or blue feathers on a bird does not prove that it is not 
full-blooded Carneau, this test acts as a safeguard to the 
inexperienced. The natural color of a Carneau is red and 
white. Rare specimens are red, and sometimes yellow. 
Sometimes they have slate or blue feathers on their breasts, 
rumps or in their tails. This slate is generally due, how- 
ever, to the effort to breed extra dark, solid red Carneaux. 
When there is no pigment in the feather coloring, the 
feathers are white, and with too much pigment they are 
darker than red and take on a bluish cast, commonly 
called slate. 

If one would discard all Carneaux with slate feathers 
and retain those without slate feathers, they would be 
reasonably sure of having the pure-bred stock, but this is 
really not the best test. A Carneau has other marks of 
distinction besides its color which are just as much or more 
important. There are pigeons of the Carneau shade of red 
to be found among lots of other varieties, and if the color 
test only applied one might have birds the same color as 
Carneaux with no Carneau blood in them. 

For those who are not familiar with the Carneau, I will 
furnish a few of the most important and pronounced char- 
acteristics of the bird. The average hen will weigh from 
18 to 22 ounces, and the cock from 19 to 23 ounces. If 
fat, they will run a little more, and if poor a little less 
than that. Both sexes are of blocky type — the cock having 
a little longer body, and the hen a little deeper keel and 
fuller breast with a smaller throat and head. The beak is 
light horn color, of medium size, with a medium V-shaped 
wattle ; the eye rather large and bright, set in the middle 
of the head ; the top of the head round and high in front, 
coming almost straight do\v^l to the beak, forming an ob- 
tuse angle between the forehead and the beak or bill. 

A medium sized, well-proportioned Carneau will pro- 
duce squabs that weigh about sixteen ounces each. The 
squab of a larger Carneau is very little if any heavier, and 
not so many in number. Hence there is nothing to be 
gained by selecting the overgrowii birds for squab breeders. 
The demand for pound squabs has led inexperienced Car- 
neaux breeders to seek the largest Carneaux. To supply 
this demand, larger and slower birds than the Carneau 
have been crossed with the Carneau, but this method is 
a foolish practice and is detrimental rather than beneficial. 



47 



SOLID COLOR NOT IMPORTANT IN 
GARNEAUX 

By E. H. Eggleston. 

(From American Squab Journal) 

"Any color, just so it is red" is an old-time saying that 
applies to some people's opinion of Carneaux. A pigeon 
of any size, type, shape, weight or peculiar markings seems 
to be acceptable to a lot of people, just so it is red or 
reddish. 

James P. Kinnard in the March issue of Pigeons asks 
this question : ' ' Should squab breeders demand solid color 
Carneaux?" My answer is, no. A friend of mine who 
raises Carneaux once stated that there were three kinds of 
Carneaux breeders, two of which were color blind and the 
other sensible. 

He went on to say that one class would have nothing 
but red Carneaux with no white feathers, and as little slate 
or blue feathers as possible, regardless almost of size and 
other qualities, with the result that their lofts were usually 
full of undersized, ill-shaped, slow breeding birds. This 
class, as he put it, was "blind to everything but color." 

Another class was actually color-blind and could not 
distinguish slate, gray or even blue feathers from red ones 
and called everything Carneau that was reddish ; as a result 
had a lot of Carneau Homer and other Carneau crosses 
with reddish backs and slate rumps, tails or breasts. Such 
crosses do not look like Carneaux in size, type and mark- 
ings, but their red feathers lead many people to believe 
that they are Carneaux. 

Now, do not understand that pure bred Carneaux do 
not often have slate or blue feathers along with the red, 
but if they do they will look like Carneaux in type and 
general appearance. 

As all Carneau crosses have more or less slate or blue 
feathers, it is a good protection to inexperienced breeders 
to steer clear of birds with such feathers and thus avoid 
getting hold of hybrids. 

The natural color of a Carneau is red, with white 
feathers scattered over the body, rare exceptions yellow. 
When the white feather is bred out, more or less blue or 
slate feathers appear and often the red takes on a smoky 
or dusty appearance. This is due to the pigment in the 
feather coloring. With no pigment the feathers are white, 

48 



with too much they are dark blue, and so it is hard to get 
just the exact amount of coloring to make all of the feathers 
red with no white, blue or slate. 

If one knows the true Carneau type it is easy to tell 
half or quarter breed crosses, as the general characteristics 
will crop out in one way or another in a hybrid, and this 
is generally true even of birds with only one-eighth or one- 
sixteenth other than Carneau blood in them. 

As an example, a Carneau-Homer cross will invariably 
have a flat head with eyes near the top of the head, long 
bill and generally undersized, with more or less slate. A 
Carneau-Runt cross will show a long body, short legs, long 
tail and a tendency to droop the wings, with usually a short, 
thick neck and more or less slate. Even when Carneaux 
are crossed with white birds of other breeds the young will 
show dark blue or slate feathers. 

A Maltese and Carneau cross is as a rule just the op- 
posite to the Runt cross, as the body is short, legs and neck 
long, and the short tail has a tendency to elevate like the 
Maltese. There will be some slate feathers, but not as much 
as in the Carneau-Homer, Carneau-Runt or Carneau-Mon- 
daine crosses. All such hybrids are short many of the good 
qualities that go to make the Carneau such a splendid all- 
around squab breeder. 

There are many peculiar markings about the Carneau 
that are not common with other breeds. The type is dis- 
tinct and about as follows: Medium length body, legs and 
neck, a good all-around compromise between the Runt and 
Maltese ; medium sized, smooth, even bill ; no feathers on 
legs below knee ; large round eyes, orange or red in color, 
set in the middle of the head ; forehead high and prominent ; 
broad back, deep keel and good carriage. 

It would be just as nonsensical for a person breeding 
Homers to discard every bird except the pure white ones, 
as for one breeding Carneaux for squab purposes to dis- 
card everything but solid red birds. We all know that the 
Homer breeder would be sacrificing a lot of his best breeders 
of good squabs for white feathers, and just so with the 
Carneau squab breeder if he discarded all except solid red 
Carneaux. 



49 



GARNEAU GROSSES 

By E. H. Eggleston. 
(In National Squab Magazine) 

The average beginner in the pigeon business undertakes 
to establish, create (or manufacture might be a better word) 
a squab-producing pigeon according to his own architec- 
tural designs. Crossing breeds of pigeons is nonsensical, 
even by people who understand what they want to accom- 
plish and have an idea as to the results of different cross- 
ing, for it takes years to develop a hybrid into a bird that 
will perpetuate itself in size, type, color and qualities. Be- 
sides, it requires hundreds, yes, thousands, of pigeons, a 
large outlay of capital, ample room and equipment, constant 
attention and endless patience. Even with all this the out- 
come is a gamble. How, then, can an inexperienced person, 
with a vague knowledge as to what he wants to accomplish, 
with a few birds and no equipment, expect to convert him- 
self, like magic, into a Darwin or a ''Pigeon Burbank?" 

This not only applies to beginners, but often to people 
who have been plodding along for years in the pigeon busi- 
ness with a few birds of first this and that variety. That 
some breeds are better and superior to others goes without 
saying, but even an inferior breed, in my opinion, is better 
than newly-created crosses. With the former, one at least 
knows the kind of a bird he has, while with the latter it is 
a continuous grope in the dark. 

"Why experiment by crossing other breeds with Car- 
neaux when the Carneaux is as good if not the best pigeon 
raised? I have asked many people this question and this 
is the general run of answer : ' ' We wanted to see what a 
Carneau-Homer or a Carneau- White King or a Carneau- 
some-other breed would produce." 

In many cases they had the result of the cross there to 
show me, and invariably they were much disappointed with 
the hybrids produced. Another common answer to my 
question is: "We wanted to improve our stock of this or 
that breed so we are crossing the Carneaux with them." 
Other people had, so they said, a few Carneaux that the 
color was not just what they wanted so threw them into a 
pen of mixed breeds ; and this is their reason for crossing. 
Others were trying to raise a dozen or more breeds without 
sufficient room to raise one, and were allowing these differ- 
ent breeds to cross and re-cross as they pleased. 

60 



The color of a Carneau is very strong and predominates 
in its offspring when crossed with birds of most any other 
color or breed. For instance, a red and white bird of 
another breed will invariably produce a red hybrid with 
more or less blue and slate feathers on it. Often the whole 
tail will be dark blue or almost black, with the rest of the 
body red or a reddish brown. The offspring will, of course, 
show some of the Carneau characteristics besides the red 
feathers, but all such hybrids that I have ever seen re- 
semble their other-than-Carneau ancestors in the shape of 
the head and general type. As an example, the Homer- 
Carneau cross is generally under size, has a flat, snake-like 
Homer head, and a longer bill, but not as thick as the 
Homer bill. A Runt-Carneau cross will have a long body, 
short neck and legs like a Runt, with a Runt tendency to 
drag its wings, while a Carneau-Maltese cross will show up 
just the opposite, with a short body, long neck and legs, 
and a tendency to carry its tail high, a la Maltese. 

All these and other Carneau crosses that I have seen are 
generally red with more or less slate or blue feathers on 
them, and none of them is as good as the pure-bred Car- 
neau for squab breeding purposes ; so nothing is gained by 
crossing. 

The common objection to slate or blue feathers on the 
Carneau is no doubt due to the fact that most Carneau 
crosses have such feathers and while the presence of slate 
or blue feathers on a bird does not prove that it is not full- 
blooded Carneau, this test acts as a safeguard to the inex- 
perienced. The natural color of a Carneau is red and 
white. Rare specimens are red, and sometimes yellow. 
Sometimes they have slate or blue feathers on their breasts, 
rumps or in their tails. This slate is generally due, how- 
ever, to the effort to breed extra dark, solid red Carneaux. 
"When there is no pigment in the feather coloring the 
feathers are white, and with too much pigment they are 
darker than red and take on a bluish cast, commonly called 
slate. 

If one would discard all Carneaux with slate feathers 
and retain those without slate feathers they would be rea- 
sonably sure of having the pure-bred stock, but this is really 
not the best test and they would often discard some of their 
best birds for squab breeding purposes. A Carneau has 
other marks of distinction besides its color which are just 
as much or more important. There are pigeons of the Car- 
neau shade of red to be found among lots of other varieties, 
and if the color test only applied one might have red birds 
with no Carneau blood in them and think they were Car- 
neaux. 

For those who are not familiar with the Carneau I will 
furnish a few of the most important and pronounced 

51 



characteristics of the bird. The average hen will weigh 
from 18 to 22 ounces, and the cock from 19 to 23 ounces. 
If fat they will run a little more and if poor a little less 
than that. Both sexes are of blocky type — the cock having 
a little longer body and the hen a little deeper keel and 
fuller breast with a smaller throat and head. The beak is 
light in color, of medium size with a medium V-shaped 
wattle ; the eye rather large and bright, set in the middle 
of the head; the top of the head round and high in front, 
coming almost straight down to the beak, forming an obtuse 
angle between the forehead and the beak or bill. 

A medium-sized, well-proportioned Carneau will produce 
squabs that weigh about 16 ounces each. The squab of a 
larger Carneau is very little if any heavier, and not so many 
in number. Hence there is nothing to be gained by select- 
ing the overgrown birds for squab breeders. The demand 
for pound squabs has led inexperienced Carneau breeders 
to seek the largest Carneaux. To supply this demand 
larger and slower birds than the Carneau have been crossed 
with the Carneau, but this method is a foolish practice and 
is detrimental rather than beneficial. 



HOW TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF 
YOUR FLOCK 

The first idea with most people, when considering 
methods to be adopted of improving most anything, in- 
variably plan to start at the wrong end. If a majority 
of a flock of birds was perfect, it might be better to sep- 
arate the perfect birds, then discard the others, but as a 
perfect bird is practically impossible, and a large majority 
of every flock is far from perfect, it is best to start in at 
the inferior end to improve the flock. If you should pick 
out your best birds and put them by themselves, you would 
reduce the average quality of your pens ; but, on the con- 
trary, if you eliminate your poorest and inferior birds, 
you improve the average quality of your flock. 

I have tried out a plan of segregating my most per- 
fect birds into a single pen and saving their offspring to 
improve my breeding stock. This, in a way, will work 
fairly well, but as the offspring of all good looking pairs 
are not up to the standard of their parents, one would be 
making slow progress in saving such birds for Ijreeding 
purposes, even though they come from birds of apparent 
quality. I have noticed many people practice this method, 
and invariably they save from their best pens youngsters 
for breeding purposes which are far inferior to the best 
youngsters produced in their pens. 

52 



One should go through his plant once or twice a week 
spotting birds to be taken out, when by doing so no eggs 
or young will be lost. For instance, we see a small, under- 
average cock in pen No. 10. We investigate and find that 
he is also a slow breeder or that his squabs are not large 
and fat as a rule. We then decide to take him and his 
mate out. We find, however, that they have eggs or young 
ones, so we make a calculation as to the time they can be 
removed and on that date we finish the work started a week 
or even a month before. The mate, if a good average bird, 
is remated with a good cock and put back to work. All 
culled out birds can be used for soup, sold on the market 
or jobbed off in a lot to some one who is not particular 
about quality. In short, I advise the improvement of 
quality by methods of elimination rather than by special 
selections. 



RAISING PIGEONS TO A STANDARD 

Regardless of the nature of the business engaged in or 
to be undertaken, in order to attain success in any degree, 
it is necessary for one to familiarize himself thoroughly 
with the details and possibilities of that business and to 
establish an ideal condition toAvards which to work. The 
squab industry is no exception to this rule, and it is at all 
times necessary to work towards advancement in all 
branches of the industry and especially so to the improve- 
ment of one's breeding stock. 

An ideal condition can never be attained. Each suc- 
cessful and enthusiastic breeder will raise the standard of 
perfection and his ideal as he advances. A perfect squab 
plant supplied with a perfect stock of birds that will pro- 
duce a maximum number of perfect squabs yearly, there- 
fore, can never be realized, but we can and should at all 
times strive for a higher grade of perfection, even though 
we might at different periods surpass ideals that we previ- 
ously hoped to attain. The improvement and perfection 
of a strain of squab producers can only be brought about 
gradually; it is not practical to undertake too rapid ad- 
vancement, so care should be taken not to place our ideals 
too far ahead of present conditions. It is necessary, how- 
ever, to fix a standard of perfection to work to, and then 
do only those things that will tend to bring the desired 
results. 

In order to make money raising squabs, a necessary 
number must be produced annually from each pair of 
breeders. The squabs must be of good average size, of a 
grade that will satisfy the buyer, and the amount of ex- 
pense for feed and other necessities must be in keeping 

53 



with the production. Then we must decide on certain 
points of improvement, such as light meated squabs, large 
breasted, well-matured and fat squabs at the proper selling 
age, and a uniformity in these qualities. To attain such a 
condition and results, we should improve the standard of 
our breeding stock, by first learning the size and shape and 
types old birds should possess, and then by eliminating 
from our breeding stock the poorest type birds, and those 
that are farther from the desired standard. 

A flock of breeders can be improved materially, and 
bred up toward a standard by the method of elimination. 
To do this, as previously stated, one must have a fair 
knowledge of what constitutes a good breeder and the 
standard of perfection desired. He should have as perfect 
a check as possible on what each pair of his breeders are 
doing. Then he should discard or eliminate his slowest pro- 
ducers, the birds of the poorest types and shapes, those that 
are the smallest and also the overgrown and oversize birds. 
This method of elimination, however, should be gradual 
and considerable care and attention should be given to the 
question of results ; that is to say, it is not always advisable 
to cull out the undersized, ill-shaped bird in preference to 
a better type one, for the reason that the poorest looking 
bird might be producing the best squabs and the largest 
number of squabs. As a rule, this will not be found to be 
the case, and by a slow method of eliminating, now and 
then discarding an inferior bird, be it large or small, and 
replacing it with one superior in size, type nearer the 
ideal standard, one will be surprised at the progress he 
will make, and how. in a comparatively short time, he will 
improve the average quality of his entire stock. 

Taking the Carneau Pigeon as an example, hens that 
weigh less than 16 oz., or over 22 oz., should be eliminated 
as fast as they can be replaced with better birds, and Car- 
neau cocks that weigh less than 18 oz., or over 24 oz., should 
be eliminated. Personally, T favor Carneau hens that 
weigh from 18 to 20 oz.. and cocks that weigh from 20 to 
22 oz. The accompanying picture of an ideal pair of Car- 
reaux will furnish the reader with a good type to breed to. 
You will notice that these birds stand with their bodies at 
an angle of about 45 degrees. They have full rounded 
breasts, and their legs set well back under their bodies. 
Their necks are an average length, not too short nor too 
long. They have broad shoulders, tapering back, giving 
their back a wedge or flat iron shape. Their legs are not 
short enough to give them a duck like appearance, nor 
long enough to make them appear lanky and ungainly. 
They have good, thick, substantial, yet graceful necks, and 
show marked vitality and vigor in their general make up 
and carriage. 

54 



Carneaux that stand more horizontally, or more per- 
pendicularly are not as good mothers or fast breeders, as 
a rule, as those that stand at a natural pose as these birds 
do, and the same thing applies to Carneaux that have too 
long or too short bodies or that are about the same size at 
both ends. The wedge shaped bird with deep keel and full 
rounded chest is by far the best average breeder. 

Oversized Carneaux are just as undesirable as under- 
sized, and this is true with all breeds of pigeons or fowls 
of any kind ; yes, I will go farther, and say it is true with 
all animal kind, including the human race. Nature itself 
works to a standard. A tall man invariably admires a 
short woman, a large man a small woman, a blonde a 
brunette. A quick, irritable, impulsive person generally 
feels more at hoine with a slower, even tempered person, 
and if it were not for this condition the human race would 
develop into extremes. Likes begets likes, and if likes at- 
tracted likes, in a short time one set of people would be 
extremely tall and another set extremely short — giants and 
midgets. One class would be very dark, and another class 
very light complexioned and so on. Now, what is true with 
people is also true with animals of any kind, including 
pigeons; so in the same breed of pigeons it would be pos- 
sible to develop by selection and elimination excessive large 
or extremely small birds. Nature again has guarded 
against extremes by a safety first idea. In pigeons I can't 
say that they mate olf in opposites ; that is, that a small 
bird will naturally mate with a larger bird, but I do know 
that if two extreme small birds mate or two excessive large 
ones mate, their offspring will not be as plentiful as will 
be the mating of average sized birds, and I do believe that 
nature does by the rule of restriction in production main- 
tain a uniformity. We can, however, assist nature, or 
gradually drift it to a desired result, determining in ad- 
vance what we wish to accomplish along certain lines, and 
then accomplish our purpose by mating and remating birds 
of different types by selection and elimination to produce 
the desired type. 

For the correct standard and description of the dif- 
ferent popular squab bred varieties, see article on Recog- 
nized Standards. 



5& 



"YELLOW GARNEAUX" 

As previously stated, the natural color of a Carneau 
pigeon is red with white spots irregularly scattered over 
the body, with now and then a solid red bird and rare ex- 
ceptions a yellow and white or solid yellow. No one has 
been able to fully account for the existence of yellow Car- 
neaux and why these birds will now and then show up 
when for generations their parents have been known to be 
of the red variety, except by the scientific standpoint that 
governs the coloring of pigeons and the certain peculiari- 
ties or exceptions to such rules. There is but very little 
difference in reality in the color of a red Carneau and a 
yellow Carneau. (This is true of all breeds of pigeons.) 
The yellow is apparently just a little bit more negative 
in coloring matter, which by the way is more frequent with 
females than with males; that is to say, with all red breeds 
of pigeons now and then there is apt to appear a yellow 
female and so far as that goes, this same color character- 
istic appears in birds of any solid color, as the female will 
on exceptional occasions show lighter in color than males 
of the same variety. Dun females, for instance, will some- 
times appear among black feathered birds. The yellow 
Carneau when found among red Carneaux is invariably a 
female and undoubtedly from this yellow female yellow 
males have been produced, and when these males are re- 
mated to yellow females, they produce yellow Carneaux. 

It is argued by some that it was necessary to cross in 
with the yellow females of this breed, yellow males of some 
other breed, such as the yellow Homer, and then mate the 
offspring, which will be a yellow bird and one-half Car- 
neau, with a female yellow Carneaux, then remating 
the yellow male offspring from this combination again with 
a full blood yellow female and so on until the Homer blood 
was eliminated. This might be true, but if so where does 
the yellow male Homer come from, as the same rule applies 
to solid color Homers as applies to Carneaux, viz. : that 
the yellow birds were originally females? Anyway the 
yellow Carneau exists now in a special variety, of which 
there are both males and females, and reproduce their kind 
without throwing any red or red and white youngsters. 
But with yellow Carneaux, as with red, the natural color- 
ing scheme is yellow and white splashed, and the white 
splashes are of irregular design, scattered over their bodies. 

The yellow and white Carneau is the equal of the red 

56 



and white variety in every particular, with possibly a 
little in its favor in the way of production of whiter 
meated squabs and a little in the favor of the looks of the 
squab, as a yellow feathered squab will dress up a little 
nicer and cleaner looking on account of its pin feathers 
being lighter in color. The pin feathers on a red squab 
are much darker than those on a yellow feathered squab. 

The yellow Carneau as a rule is freer from dark beaks 
and slate or bluish feathers, which characteristics tend 
towards darker meat. The squabs produced by yellow and 
white Carneaux are just as large and just as many in 
number as compared to those of the red variety. 

(For other details see Standard governing Carneaux 
and particularly that part covering the yellow variety.) 




YELLOW CARNEAU 



57 



WHITE GARNEAUX 

It may be possible to secure a white Carneau by merely 
selecting and breeding Carneaiix with the greatest number 
of white feathers. I believe the term White Carneau, how- 
ever, could be justly applied to a white bird that came 
within the standard for White Carneaux.in size, color and 
other markings, even if it had a small percentage other 
than Carneau blood in its veins. I can substantiate the 
consistency of this statement by pointing to breeds of 
chickens and animals. For instance, with chickens there 
are white Plymouth Rocks, white Orpingtons, white Wyan- 
dottes and even white Rhode Island Reds that are made 
breeds and have been created by crossing in chickens with 
white plumage with the standard breed in order to obtain 
the desired feather color. 

A white Plymouth Rock chicken was first made by using 
the barred Plymouth Rock as a basis, then the size, shape, 
color of legs, feet, etc., was retained, but the feather color 
was bred to white by crossing in white chickens of some 
other breed and then breeding everything out except the 
feather color. Buff Rocks, Black Orpingtons and many 
other varieties of chickens have been established in this 
way ; then, why is it not permissible to cross a white- 
feathered pigeon with a Carneau, retaining only the white 
plumage qualities of its ancestors? If this can be done to 
such an extent that all the qualities of a Carneau are re- 
tained, including type, size, weight, color of eyes, beak and 
its breeding qualities, so that competent judges of Car- 
neaux cannot detect any difference in the bird except its 
feather color, then why is this not a true white Carneau 
and why should it not be accepted as such? 

Such an undertaking and accomplishment is far more 
difficult than might at first be estimated, and as it would 
require scientific effort, patien'^e and time to bring about 
the desired results, why not reward a person who is success- 
ful in his undertaking by praise rather than condemning 
him? 

Here are some of the difficulties one will encounter if 
he starts to create White Carneaux by crossing, which in 
my opinion is the only way that they can be bred ; the first 
offspring from a white bird and a Carneau will more than 
likely have dark feathers, dark beak and dark skin. The 
feathers will either be reddish or bluish in cast or both, and 
the youngsters will apparently be farther away from the 
white color than its Carneau mother or father. This off- 

58 



spring, however, must be crossed back to a Cariieau in order 
to keep it from getting too far away from the Carneau 
type and blood. Then the offspring from the cross must 
be again mated to a white bird with a possible chance of 
seme of their young being white. Right here, however, is 
where the breeder will strike his first obstacle, as the white 
youngsters from such a combination will have black or bull 
eyes and, as the "White Carneau standard specifically states 
that the eyes must be orange, this is a stumbling block 
which few breeders will ever get beyond. It can be accom- 
plished, however, by again and again breeding back to the 
Carneau and again and again breeding the offspring to 
white birds until the white bird is produced with an orange 
eye, then by crossing such birds back to full blooded Car- 
neaux and their offspring with other white birds with 
orange eyes which have been produced in the same way, in 
time they will reproduce orange eyed white birds that will 
reproduce their kind and can be perpetuated as a breed. 

There are other points, however, and difficulties that 
must be considered and worked out along with the color 
scheme and the orange eyes. One is the light beak which 
is provided for by the White Carneau standard. It is hard 
to produce the white bird with orange eyes, but it is harder 
to produce a white bird with orange eyes and a light beak, 
especially so when the first cross between a white bird and 
a Carneau will invariably throw youngsters with dark 
beaks and the first orange eyed bird produced will invari- 
ably have a dark beak. Difficulty also arises in maintain- 
ing the Carneau size and type. White Homers can be 
crossed in, but they are undersized and it is almost impos- 
sible to eliminate the strong Homer type in future genera- 
tions. A White Runt is oversized and it is hard to elim- 
inate the Runt-like appearance from future offspring. A 
white Maltese lien pigeon furnishes a good type, except the 
neck is too long, and it is hard to eliminate the uplifted 
tail. Therefore, when one asks what kind of a white bird 
can be used, the answer is that the white bird must be man- 
ufactured for this purpose by crossing and recrossing white 
Homers, white Runts and white Maltese, until a bird is 
produced that has almost the correct Carneau size and type. 

For the benefit of anyone who might undertake this 
project, I will add that only a small percentage of white 
Homer blood should be used. Just enough to make a bird 
thrifty and active and to keep down the size slightly. 
A cross between a white Runt and a white Maltese will be 
a little oversized, but a well divided composition of a 
Maltese and a Runt is almost the desired type for a Car- 
neau, except as just stated, the possibility of it being a lit- 
tle oversized ; so a small amount of Homer blood is neces- 
sary to reduce the size. 

59 



The next difficulty is the breeding qualities, as the Car- 
neau is a fast breeder, and it would not be consistent to 
create a white Carneau in size, shape and other qualities 
without maintaining its breeding and squab-producing 
proclivities. This can be done if the white offspring is 
created in such a way that at least seven-eighths of its blood 
is Carneau; then, too, a sprinkling of the fast breeding 
Homer blood will tend to offset the slow breeding Runt 
blood. If anyone thinks that it is a cinch and an easy mat- 
ter to breed and create a White Carneau by crossing, let 
him be convinced of his error by trying it out for himself. 
There has always been a great demand for birds with white 
feathers, as they seem to attract the eye. The White Car- 
neau when perfected, like white chickens, will be a very 
popular breed. There are a few White Carneaux in exist- 
ence, but as yet this variety is in the experimental stage. 
It, however, is a good cause and a worthy undertaking 
from a commercial standpoint, besides the work being most 
interesting anl instructive to one who likes pigeons and 
enjoys accomplishing hard tasks. 



BLACK CARNEAUX 

A black Carneau as yet has not been successfully pro- 
duced to any extent, and so far they are more on the na- 
ture of a freak. Hbwever, they can be produced in the 
same manner as the black Orphington chicken is produced 
and along the same method as is described in the article on 
White Carneaux. It undoubtedly would be impossible to 
produce Black Carneaux by selection, even though you 
might continue to select and mate together the darkest col- 
ored birds for an indefinite period, for the result would 
be a dark blue or slate colored bird instead of a black one, 
as the dark pigment in a Carneau is not black but blue, 
and it is this bluish tint with the red that gives the red 
such a rich maroon cast. 

A bird with all the Carneau characteristics and one 
that will comply in type, size, head, color of beak, eyes, 
and in every other detail to the Standard, can be produced 
with black, dun, white or bluish feathers by the process of 
crossing in a black pigeon of some other breed or any other 
color desired, and then breeding out the foreign blood by 
crossing and recrossing the offspring back to full blooded 
Carneaux, saving only youngsters of the desired color or 
those that had a tendency to the desired color. 

To establish a black breed of Carneaux, therefore, by 
this method, we must cross Carneaux with black pigeons 
of some other breed, Homers, Runts or Maltese will do, but 

60 



preferably a cross between these three breeds as is described 
in the article on White Carneaux. 

Black Homers, Mondaines, Rnnts and Hen pigeons do 
not have light beaks, and there are very few breeds of black 
pigeons that have light beaks. There are black Tnmblers 
with light beaks, but they have pearl eyes, and a Black 
Carneau must have a Carneau eye and not a Tumbler eye ; 
hence the Tumblers or any pearl-eyed pigeon cannot be 
used in the production of a black Carneau without en- 
countering the necessity of breeding out pearl eyes, which 
would be an added obstacle. 

The offspring of a black pigeon and a Carneau will 
occasionally be dun or brown with light beaks, but offspring 
of the same combination are more apt to be a dirty red with 
a smutty or bluish breast and rump, and some of the squabs 
by the same mating are apt to be mottled in various colors, 
with occasionally a blue barred offspring; none of which 
can be used in the making of a black Carneau except the 
duns or browns with light beaks, and if these show bars on 
their wings they cannot be used. 

By recrossing the duns and browns with light beaks 
with other birds of the same color and produced in the 
same way, now and then a black one will appear with a 
light beak. If it is then crossed back with a full blooded 
Carneau they will produce an occasional black youngster 
with a light beak, and after this point is reached success- 
fully by several different routes, so as to keep fairly free 
from in-breeding, such birds can be mated to others pro- 
duced in the same way and remated until they will per- 
petuate themselves in color. It must be kept in mind that 
in the effort to secure color, the type and qualities of the 
Carneau must not be sacrificed or lost track of, otherwise 
the result would not be a black Carneau. 

The main difficulty in producing a Black Carneau is 
to get a black bird with orange eyes and a light beak that 
is the Carneau characteristic and qualities, and once this 
is accomplished, the result will be reallj^ and truly a Black 
Carneau, even though it might have some other blood in 
its veins, the same as a Black Orphington chicken was not 
bred entirely from Orphingtons. 



61 



UTILITY RATHER THAN FANCY 

By E. H. Eggleston 
(From Hearst's Sunday Amencan) 

Mr. McCreight: 

Mr. Miles has been in Chicago for some time and I have 
had several talks with him on the question pertaining to 
the International Carneau Club, and particularly the ques- 
tion of a new standard. 

I presume that Mr. Miles has advised you of my having 
been selected to fill the position of treasurer and member 
of the executive board of the International Carneau Club. 
He has asked me to write you my idea of a new standard 
and how to improve Carneau conditions. 

The public, as well as the majority of Carneau breeders, 
have held Carneaux with white feathers at too small a 
value, sometimes to such an extent that these birds are con- 
sidered crosses, or a poor class of culls, and has hurt the 
commercial end of the industry. As you know, the Car- 
neau is a utility bird, and it could never be anything else 
any more than a Plymouth Rock chicken would be classed 
as a fancy breeder. Of course, the Carneau is a beautiful 
])ird, and this is especially true of solid reds and yellows, 
and it is all right to produce all red or all yellow Car- 
neaux and to compete for prizes in these classes, but it is 
not all right to allow a few fanciers to make a hobby of an 
industry to the detriment of those who are following it in a 
commercial way. The men that raise fancy Carneaux, prob- 
ably combined, do not own two thousand birds; yet they 
dictate the policy of the future of this breed over thou- 
sands throughout the United States who probably own .half 
a million birds. It is a case of the tail wagging the dog, 
and the strangest part of it all is that these fancy breeders, 
are chiefly responsible for the present conditions, are not 
satisfied with the status of affairs, and complain about their 
customers denmnding show birds for squab producing pur- 
poses. 

Almost every day I receive letters from people who 
want Carneaux for squab breeding purposes, and yet they 
describe and expect what is now classed as show birds. 
They must not have any white or l)lue feathers. I am not 
alone in this position, as almost everyone that sells a few 
Carneaux is up against the same proposition. Mr. Miles 
and all other breeders have similar stories. Now what is 

62 



responsible for this condition ? Nothing more than the fact 
that the prevailing color of Carneaux is red and white or 
yellow and white, and that birds of this color have been 
legislated against by the fancier's standard until the public 
in general has been educated to the belief that the Carneau 
that has white feathers on its body is no good. 

Now, I have a plan that I believe will remedy condi- 
tions, and be a big boost to the Carneaux, both as a utility 
and a show bird. The success of all shows depends upon 
their financial success. Most pigeon shows today are run 
at a loss, because the general public is not sufficiently in- 
terested to make the gate receipts large enough to offset the 
expense of holding the show. Even when pigeon shows 
are held in connection with poultry shows, the pigeon end 
of it is not much of a success from a financial standpoint. 
Poultry breeders do not meet with this difficulty, for the 
reason that the fancy end of the business has not run away 
with the utility end, and in all poultry shows there are 
more birds entered in the utility classes than in the fancy 
classes. The people who enter Plymouth Rocks, Orping- 
tons, Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds receive a double 
benefit. They gain a certain amount of publicity, and 
learn what constitutes first-class birds in their variety. In 
addition thereto they enjoy the sport of competing equally 
as well as the fancy. 

Now, my plan, in short, is to bring about a similar con- 
dition with pigeons, and I am interested in the Carneau, 
and as I believe the Carneau the gi'eatest utility bird 
known, naturally believe that the place to start is with the 
Carneau. I believe that if our standard was changed so 
that the average utility Carneau breeder would have a 
chance of \Wnning prizes, and so they could show birds 
with the object of receiving some benefit by publicity, as 
well as for honor, that almost immediately we would see 
a large number of entries in each show in this class, and in 
a short time there would be a lot of interest created among 
the utility breeders. And with the aid of the many Car- 
neau lireeders throughout the country', we would be able 
to increase our membership naturally, and bring about 
many things favorable to the Carneau cause. 

Now, here is the standard that I would favor : I would 
start out with this statement that the prevailing color of 
Carneau pigeons was red and white and yellow and white, 
that the red should be a dark, rich, bronze color, etc., and 
the yellow a dark golden shade ; that these birds had white 
feathers over their body in irregular designs, and follow 
this by describing the ideal type, weight, size, head, beak, 
eye, etc., with instructions to the judges that birds should 
be judged and graded by comparison with other birds in 
the same class, and points of excellency should be reckoned 

63 



by the following schedule: Color to count 10 points, 
weight 8 points, and so on down the line, using the same 
schedule as our present standard gives, except I would 
change the proper weight to 19 to 23 ounces for cocks and 
from 18 to 22 ounces for hens. Birds over or under this 
weight would not be disqualified, but cut so many points 
for each ounce under or over. I would next give the same 
schedule for yellow and white Carneaux, except changing 
the color from red to yellow, then a class for all red Car- 
neaux and for all yellow Carneaux. Birds in these classes 
would not be eligible to compete in the red and white, or 
yellow and white classes. Following this the same standard 
for all white Carneaux, then there would be a standard for 
utility Carneaux shown in pairs. Ariy Carneau color 
eligible to compete with this class, preference to be given 
to the birds freest from slate and bluish feathers. In this 
class I would advise that the points of color be reduced and 
the points for weight and breast be increased. 

I would not favor an A. 0. C. class, and would cut out 
the rose wings, as such birds can not be reproduced and 
are only chance types of that color. Naturally there would 
be quite a howl to go up on the adoption of such a stand- 
ard, and we might lose some members among the fancy, 
but by getting busy with the utility Carneau breeders 
throughout the country, I am sure we could gain ten mem- 
bers, yes, a hundred, for every one we lost, and such mem- 
bers would have some money interest in the business, and 
be of more value to a successful organization than a fancier. 
However, I do not feel that it is necessary to lose the fancy 
breeders, for with the red and yellow standard they should 
go ahead competing the same as they have been. In a short 
time, however, we would to a great extent change the pres- 
ent prevailing opinion that the Carneau should be red and 
not red and white. 

I am well satisfied with the results that I have accom- 
plished this year in the sale of Carneaux, as I started in 
the spring with over 4,000 marketable birds, and sold all 
I cared to spare at good prices before molting time, and I 
believe that next year will be even better, for I have had 
an increase in the sale of birds each year over the previous 
year, but that does not alter the case. I am not speaking 
from a selfish standpoint, but from a standpoint of what 
I believe will be greatly beneficial to the Carneau cause. 

A copy of the above letter was sent by me to each mem- 
ber of the executive board of the International Carneau 
Club at the time the question of a new Carneau standard 
was up for consideration. That the board took kindly to 
my suggestion to elevate the red and white bird to its 
proper place, is borne out by the standard adopted, which 
follows : 

64 



INTERNATIONAL GARNEAU CLUB STAND- 
ARD OF PERFECTION FOR JUDGING 
OF GARNEAUX 

Authorized by Executive Board Whose Names 
Appear Below 

The following is the standard for Carueaux to be used 
by all judges and shows held under the rules of The In- 
teniational Carncaii Cluh: 

In judging all Carneaux, it should be remembered that 
Carneaux are "utility birds" used for squab-breeding 
purposes. 

They consist of three decided colors, red, yellow and 
white — these being the concolor. They may be all red, all 
yellow, all white, or co-mingling colors of red and white or 
yellow and white. 

It must be distinctly understood that feather color, if 
possessing the above, either in solid or mixed, does not alter 
the virtues of this great "Titan of Squab Breeders." 

In classification for shows the various color birds should 
be placed in their respective classes. 

All Carneaux to be judged by the following instruction 
and points: 

Points of Perfection of All Classes 

Head : Prominent, strong and rounding from wattle 
to above eyes, then gradually inclines to neck. Broad be- 
tween eyes, free from slender or snake-like appearance; 
in keeping with proportion of body. 

Eye : Large and prominent ; located a little to front of 
center of head. 

Iris: Orange color shaded to red, or red. 

Cere : Cream color shaded to red, or red. 

Beak : Stout, medium in length, showing no ill shape. 
Color, light shade of cow horn, may be darker at base ; 
clear of all stain or black beak. (This must not be con- 
strued to legislate against dark color of pigment showing 
in beak.) 

"Wattle : Smooth, V-shaped ; free from coarseness. 
Color, cream or light flesh shade (epidermis). 

Neck: Well-rounded, in keeping with body propor- 
tions ; free from swanlike appearance, medium in length, 
gradually developing into a round full breast. 

Back : Broad across shoulders, straight in line to tip 
of- tail. 

Wings : Strong in proportion. Butts not prominent or 
conspicuous. Flights carried over tail feathers and in 
keeping with body, not too long. 
- 5 65 



Tail: In keeping with body; not too long or "runt" 
like, extending not over one and one-half inches beyond 
flights. Nearly square at end, free from pointed or wedge 
shape; carried in line with back. 

Legs : Strong, length in keeping with body, well up. 
Straight, clear of feathers below the hock, standing well 
apart at keel, space two and one-half to three inches. Size : 
In keeping with body and symmetry, both in length and 
proportions, red in color. 

Feet: Large, of good proportion, in keeping with sub- 
stantial tarsus in size ; color being red. 

Body : Compact, solid, deep in keel, round, correspond- 
ing with well rounded breast, showing good symmetrical 
proportions. 

Flesh : Solid, showing compactness. 

Carriage : Well up, haughty ; free from squatty or 
crouch-like appearance, but well up on legs, carrying head 
in keeping, free from "down-faced" or tendency to bear 
beak in neck feathers. 

Breast: Full, round and well developed; in keeping 
with symmetry of bird. 

Plumage: Close fitting. Must positively be free from 
slate, blue, smut or other off colors. The deeper the color- 
ing pervades, the under color of fluff, the more value the 
])ird in points. Neck coloring shows slightly more luster 
and sheen. 

Weight : Old cock, 20 to 24 ounces. Old hen, 19 to 23 
ounces. Young cock, 19 to 23 ounces. Young hen, 17 to 
21 ounces. 

Judges when not thoroughly familiar with weight of 
birds shall weigh or satisfy themselves of the weight, judg- 
ing by comparison with those in close competition. 

Female : Feminine in general appearance, being 
slightly more slender and delicate. The nearer they cor- 
respond in type to the males, the more preferable in points. 

The Solid Red Class 

This class must be judged by points of perfection that 
cover all cases except color. Must be bright, deep, ox- 
heart red, closely resembling the horse chestnut when ripe. 
Decidedly red free from off color. The deeper the fluff 
in color the more preferable. Neck color very lustrous. 

The Solid Yellow^ Class 

Must be judged by points of perfection that cover all 
cases except color. Must be deep golden yellow, neck shad- 
ing opalescent. The deeper the fluff the more preferable. 

Eyes : Conspicuous. 

Iris : Prominent orange. 

Beak : Cream in color. 

66 



Red and White Class 

Must be judged by points of perfection covering all 
cases except color. Must be red and white. Must have 
enough white feathers to exclude them from the solid red 
class. Birds that are eligible to the solid red class must 
be excluded from this class. Birds with the fewest or with 
the most white feathers must be classed as red and white, 
take no preference one over the other. 

Yellov^ and White Class 

Must be judged by points of perfection covering all 
cases except color. Must be yellow and w'hite. Must have 
enough white feathers to exclude them from the solid yel- 
low class. Birds that are eligible to the >solid yellow class 
must be excluded from this class. Birds with the fewest 
or with the most white feathers must be classed as yellow 
and white and take no preference one over the other. 

When judging red and white or yellow and white birds, 
judges must rule by points of comparison in keeping with 
show rules. These classifications admit birds in either pairs 
or singles, but must be in keeping with show rules. When 
accepted in pairs they must be judged by pairs and cannot 
compete against single birds. 

White Class 
This class shall be judged by the same standard of per- 
fection covering all cases with the exception of beak and 
feather coloring. Beak must be cream or light flesh color. 
Feathers shall be clear white, both exterior and under 
color of fluff. Birds with other color than white feathers 
disqualified. Eyes must be similar to the Carneau type of 
conspicuous orange. 

Points of Scoring 

Type, etc . .50 points 

Color 25 points 

Minor details 25 points 

Itemized Points of Scoring 

Body, breast and construction 22 points 

Carriage and symmetry 8 points 

Head 7 points 

Neck 5 points 

Wings 5 points 

Tail 3 points 

Total 50 points 

Color in general 20 points 

Feathers — condition 5 points 

Total 25 points 

Beak 3 points 

Beak too dark or deep shade 2 points 

67 



Eye 3 points 

Iris 3 points 

Cere 2 points 

Legs 4 points 

Feet 3 points 

General condition 5 points 

Total 25 points 



Grand Total 100 points 

Judge mnst use "The Universal Standard" in judging 
all Carneaux. Judges in order to qualify must 1)p in pos- 
session of and acquainted with said standard. 

When competition is close the judges must adjudge all 
birds by points and when possible exhibit and use in dis- 
play or walking cage. 

In case of protest in regular form the judge must furnish 
all points to the committee in which he based his decision. 

Disqualifications 

All birds other than mentioned in standard shall be 
disqualified. All birds showing in feather any off-color 
such as blue, slate, gray or smut. 
Wry or uplifted tail. 

Birds carrying wings below tail or hanging away from 
the bod}" or decided spread of wings. 

Birds in bad condition or showing sickness. 
Birds showing any runt or hen pigeon eccentricities or 
tumbler head. 

Birds showing any signs of having been tampered with, 
such as coloring, plucking or any other indication of in- 
tended fraud. 

Judges finding less than the required number of wing 
feathers and flight feathers or less than the required num- 
ber of tail feathers shall discount or cut for same. 
Approvedhy: 

Frank Lee Miles, President, 

Danville, Pa. ; 
J. P. KiNNARD, Secretary, 

Haskell, Texas; 
E. II. Eggleston, Treasurer, 

Chicago, Illinois; 
E. G. Carleson, 

Woburn, Mass. ; 
John S. McCreight, 

Atlanta, Ga. ; 
W. I. DeLong, 

Los Angeles, Calif. ; 
Officers and Members of the Executive Board. 

68 



FEATHER COLOR 

It is generally believed by men who have made a study 
of the origin of the different kinds or species of pigeons 
that they all originally came from the ancient Rock Pigeon 
which was of a bliieish gray in color with two blacks bars 
or stripes across the lower end of each wing, very much the 
same in color as the blue-barred Homer of today. The 
most positive proof of this theory is that the off-colored 
birds of any breed will show a tendency in color to "Blue 
Bars." The same is true when the different breeds are 
crossed for sooner or later the offspring drifts toward the 
color design of the Old Rock pigeon. In fact, in all colors 
and varieties of pigeons there is a characteristic marking 
of the feathers, such as bars on the wings and dark tips on 
the end of their tail feathers and the various color schemes 
built up from a blueish gray. That strongly supports the 
idea that all pigeons came from a common variety. This 
is also borne out by the habits and characteristics of all 
pigeons which are the same with different variations. (See 
article on "Habits of Different Varieties of Pigeons.") 
Taking the Blue Bars as a feather color basis we can easily 
trace this blueish gray through the color scheme of all 
pigeons. The same fundamental principles govern the col- 
oring in pigeon feathers that govern the color of all other 
animals or fowls. That is to say, all colors are made from 
the three primary colors. Red, blue and yellow, with the 
negative white and the positive black, which gives various 
combinations of five so-called colors. The blueish gray 
pigeon color is more of a lead color than a blue and lead 
color is made by a mixture of black and white. A number 
of blue barred or gray pigeons with black bars put to them- 
selves will sooner or later produce some all white and all 
black birds. The white birds are those that are void of 
pigment, hence negative in color or white. The black birds 
are the opposite with an over supply of pigment which 
gives their feather coloring an extreme opaque appearance, 
hence look black, generally a muddy blueish-black. By care- 
ful examination of the gray of the supposed original pigeon 
color it will be found to contain slight variations. Some birds 

69 



will show slight reddish or purple cast, others have a tend- 
ency towards yellow or green. The various slight differ- 
ences in shades are not noticeable unless one makes a 
special study of color and understands the principles of 
color and color combinations. You no doubt understand 
that blue and red make purple, red and yellow make orange 
and blue and yellow make green. Now the reason we have 
no green or purple pigeons is because the blueish color of 
pigeons is a combination of black and white and is, in fact, 
lead color or gray and not really blue, hence without blue 
there is no green as it takes blue and yellow to make green 
and without blue there is no purple as it takes blue and red 
to make purple. With lead color or gray substituted for 
blue we can get a slight purple or green cast, but no green 
or purple. Now, going back to explain the possibilities of 
the various colors of pigeons other than the supposed orig- 
inal color, the feather coloring of all pigeons shows the 
presence of more or less red and yellow, by selecting those 
that show the most red and breeding from them and again 
selecting the reddest of their offspring pigeons of different 
shades of reddish feathers have been produced, the same is 
true with yellow, as yet it has not been possible to produce 
bright red or bright yellow birds and probably never will 
on account of the predominating colors of a pigeon being 
gray (if you will permit me to call these colors) and as a 
combination of black and white makes a lead color and the 
presence of this lead color which cannot be entirely elim- 
inated, gives the red or yellow a muddy look and prevents 
bright red or bright yellow. The various color combina- 
tions of pigeons, therefore, are, first, lead color (a com- 
bination of black and white with a little red or yellow 
cast) ; second, ])lack with generally enough red or yellow 
to make a muddy black. Third, white; fourth, same colors 
with red predominating; tifth, the same colors with yellow 
predominating and sixth, a combination of one or more of 
these color schemes. The presence of black, which gener- 
ally shows first in the form of two black bars on the wings, 
and the presence of white, which generally shows first in 
the larger wing feathers, making the wings "white 
tipped," are the most common feather markings and those 
tliat are the most difficult to eliminate. 

Such colors as brown and dun are chance colors from 
crossing black birds with red birds. Dun is a muddy color 
that results from crossing yellow birds with black birds, in 
all of which colors there are different shades or lighter or 
darker tendency, but none that are of green or purple 
shades and all have more or less of the original color (a 
grav blue) as the foundation color. 



70 



SQUAB HOUSES FOR LARGE PLANTS 

The nest rooms and fly pens for a large plant should 
be built on the same plan and according to the dimensions 
as is described in the article on "How to Build Squab 
Houses, ' ' except the number of units that are to be in each 
house should be taken into consideration and plainied at 
the start according to the ground space available, size of 
plant desired and other surroundings. A squab house with 
more than twelve units is inconvenient, as it places the 
center units too far from the points of entrance and the 
exits. With a twelve unit house it should be divided with 
six units on each side, leaving a space in the center be- 
tween the two divisions of at least four feet for a passage- 
way between the fly pens of these two sections. 

A good plan is to divide a 12-section house by leaving 
a space of about 6 or 8 feet between them. Put a roof over 
same and board up the front and back, thereby making a 
little room at this point. A door should then be placed in 
the front and back of this little room to afford a passage 
way and making it unnecessary to go clear around the 
house in order to get from the front to the back of it or 
vice versa. 

A house with several sections of 12 units each, can be 
built along one in front of the other, leaving a space of 
about 20 feet between each row of houses, which will 
provide 12 feet for a fly pen, one foot for a drinking 
trough, and leave enough room to drive a wagon through 
if it was desired. However, if ground space is not avail- 
able or scarce, the houses can be placed 16 feet apart, which 
will leave ample room for a passage way between the fly 
pen and the house in front of same for all purposes except 
driving a team or wagon. 

Each of these rows of houses should be divided into 
sections of six nest rooms each, with a space between as 
mentioned above, and it is best as stated to make these 
spaces 6 or 8 feet wide and close them in as rooms. Any 
nuinber of such little rooms will be very useful for feed, 
nesting material, picking rooms and various other purposes. 

A 10 unit nest room divided into sections, 5 on each 
side, with a space between, makes a very practical squab 
house, and 5 of these 10 unit buildings would take up a 
space of 90x170 feet, which would accommodate 2,000 pairs 
of birds. 

71 



THE KIND OF A SQUAB HOUSE TO BUILD 

Before constructing a squab house or rearranging a 
building for squab raising purposes, one should familiarize 
himself with the subject of squab raising and give some 
thought to the needs of pigeons and how a squab house 
should be built and arranged so as to be able to make it 
practical and efficient. 

The majority of people w'ho start into the squab busi- 
ness or who increase their squab plant will, in the course 
of a year or two, make several changes in the plan of con- 
struction. This is' true from lack of knowledge as to what 
is the best plan. It is true that temporary arrangements 
can often not be made according to plans that temporary 
arrangements should be, and often a temporary squab 
house is so gradually worked into a permanent one that it 
is hard to follow any definite lines in the way of construc- 
tion, nesting arrangements, etc. But if the person in 
charge of the construction of even a temporary place for 
pigeons has a knowledge of pigeons and their needs and is 
familiar with the best plans for squab houses and eciuip- 
ment, they will start their temporary arrangements along 
certain lines and then as they develop and extend, they 
Avill grow into a fairly well arranged squab house. Con- 
siderable stress should be laid upon the plans and equip- 
ment of a squab house, even a small or temporary one, for 
the accommodation of birds in the way of the room they 
occupy, fly pen arrangement, and their nests, has consid- 
erable to "do with the way they start to work, their health 
and general conditions and the number of squabs they will 
raise. 

The average beginner or often experienced breeders are 
too apt to pass lightly over this and conclude that anything 
will do temporarily and that eventually they will make the 
necessary changes and arrangements. It costs no more and 
generally less to make the proper arrangement to start with, 
even though old lumber is used and an old building is util- 
ized. To do it right takes less time, less material and makes 
a much more convenient place, and will save time each day 
in caring for the birds, and these facts are multiplied when 
considering the difference between a newly constructed 
squab house along proper lines and an improperly con- 
structed one. 

In visiting squab plants, I have noticed that, as a rule, 
more lumber and material has been used and more work 

12 



put in than is necessary to construct and equip a house 
that would be more satisfactory, less expensive and more 
pleasing to the eye. Why? Because the builder undoubt- 
edly did not give sufficient thought and study to his propo- 
sition and treated the subject too lightly. Right here I 




CARNEAUX AT NIGHT 



might add that it is natural for people to have different 
ideas regarding such matters and also for each person to 
think the plan or idea he has worked out is possibly a 
little better and superior to the other fellow's, for the rea- 
son that he knows why, as a rule, he favors such plans, and 
is more familiar with same than he is with the why-fors 
and plans of the others. The average squab raiser will dis- 
agree with you on the construction of the squab house, nest 
boxes, etc., because his is different. 

There is so much difference in the plan of construction 
and equipment that there will be arguments by each user 
against all other plans except his own. There is undoubt- 
edly a best plan and a best method of construction, and 
the best way to arrive at this is to find the various differ- 
ent things that are used by the majority of squab breeders 

73 



and the things that will meet the approval of these peo- 
ple, even though they might not be generally in use. 

At the present time the writer has on his plant newly 
constructed buildings, built according to specially laid 
plans that have been worked out after years of practical 
experience and much thought on this subject, and without 
a single exception squab breeders of local and national 
reputation who have visited this plant, have approved of 
every detail of this construction. Some, however, have at 
first offered objections to certain ideas, because they used 
different plans, but when these things have been explained 
to them and proved by test and demonstration to be correct, 
they have been quick to agree and approve of same. As 
an illustration : Recently a man visited the plant who has 
several thousand squab breeders, but has been using the 
single nesting system. In going out to the plant he stated 
that he did not believe the double nest system would keep 
birds from building back in the same nests with their 
young and that two pairs would frequently be found to 
occupy one double nest. That is to say, one pair would 
build in one nest and another pair in the connecting nest. 
He also stated that by building the nest up off the floor 
20 inches, and having the nests on two side walls, with a 
light going into the nest room from the front and the rear, 
would not tend to keep birds from building on the floor. 
These were the three things that he was doubtful about. 

After going through the entire plant, nest room after 
nest room, and not finding but a few cases where birds had 
laid back with their young, and only one case where two 
pairs had occupied the same double nest, but a very few 
birds nesting on the floor, he remarked that he had learned 
more about construction of squab houses and nest boxes in 
an hour's time in examining this plant than he had during 
all the rest of his experience in the business, Avhich cov- 
ered several years' time. 

Mr. Frank Lee Miles, president of the International 
Carneau Club, recently went through this same plant and 
volunteered to write me a letter expressing his approval 
of same. 

Pigeons are not chickens. They require a different kind 
of a building and different arrangements, and if a person 
is not familiar with pigeons and squab raising, he should 
not conclude that a house constructed along the lines of a 
chicken house is what he wants, but should read up on the 
suliject and familiarize himself before going to the trouble 
and expense of constructing a house that is not going to be 
practical. A carpenter has no idea as to what is needed 
in the way of the construction of a squab house and even 
if you tell him what is wanted, he cannot build it econom- 
ically for the reason that he is accustomed to constructing 

74 



buildings along entirely different lines. They will use more 
material and lumber than is needed, take up more time, 
and the construction will be heavy, cumbersom and very 
impractical. As an example : If you show the average car- 
penter a drawing of the nest boxes and tell him to con- 
struct same along that line, he Mali put up a row of shelves, 
running his boards lengthwise, and then divide them off by 
short boards nailed in for partitions. He will then saw 
up his removable nest bottoms and slide them in on top of 
these shelves, making a double nest bottom, consuming un- 
necessary lumber and making almost an impossible place 
to clean ; where, as a matter of fact, the long boards 
should run up and down with cleats every 11 inches on 
each to slide in the removable nest bottoms, which plan is 
much easier to construct and re(|uires less lumber and is 
what you want after you get it finished. 

In the back of this book will he found a full and de- 
tailed description as to how to build squab houses, nest 
boxes, fly pens and all other equipment. 



WHEN AND HOW TO FEED 

There is some difference of opinion as to the best time 
to feed squab producing pigeons, also as to the method of 
feeding. Some advocate open feeding troughs, others use 
self-feeders, and I have seen a few men who prefer to throw 
the feed on the floor of the s<iuab house. The latter method 
is more often used by the breeders of a few fancy pigeons 
and it is probable that the squab raisers who use this 
method borrowed it from the fancy pigeon men. 

Those who practice throwing the grain on the floor, gen- 
erally feed three times a day, as much as the birds will eat 
up clean, at the time they are being fed. Those that use 
self-feeders generally fill their hoppers once a day with 
enough grain to last until next filling time, and those that 
use open troughs, as a rule, feed their birds twice a day. 
This is the plan more universally used by S(iual) producers. 
There are objections, however, to all these plans. The ob- 
jection to throwing the grain loose on the floor is that some 
of it will invariably be left over and eaten later, and while 
laying on the dirty floor is apt to sour or spoil and give 
the birds canker. Another objection to this plan is the 
boldest and most hoggish birds will gorge themselves 
leaving little or nothing for the more timid ones. Another 
objection is it requires too much time with a large plant 
to go around to each nest room and wait while the birds 
are feeding and see just how much they will clean up. 
Then, too, with this method, it is necessary to feed three 
times a day, in order that the males can get food, early In 

75 



the morning, with which to feed their young; at noon the 
birds must be fed again so that the females that are off the 
nest at that time will have a chance to get something to 
eat ; and another feed is necessary at night so that the males 
may again feed their squabs. 

I have been told that twice a day was all that was neces- 
sary with this method, as females that were setting will 
soon learn to fly off the nest at feeding time and eat along 
with the other birds, but my observation and experience 
has been that females will not stay off the nest long enough 
to get a sufficient amount to eat. They \nll, if they are 
hungry, fly down, but they will just stay long enough to 
pick up a few grains and then fly back to the nest. Pigeons 
do not like to let their eggs stay uncovered for even a short 
period of time. For instance, when the male takes the place 
of the female on the nest in the morning, and when the 
female again relieves the male in the afternoon, the bird 
on the nest will not get from over the eggs until its mate 
is on the nest by its side ; one will slip off the nest as the 
other one slips on, allowing practically no lapse of time in 
the operation. It is unnatural for pigeons to leave the nest 
for something to eat as is the habit with chickens. 

Self-feeders have never proven a success. No feeder 
has so far been perfected that will force the birds to eat 
the grain as it comes out of the hopper. While pigeons 
require several kinds of grain, they like some kinds better 
than others. Therefore, they pick out the choice kind first. 
This will leave the kind they like least or the undesirable 
grain uneaten and this uneaten grain will soon choke up 
the feeder. You might figure that when birds are hungry 
enough they will eat up this less desirable kind of grain 
that has choked the feeder, and that would automatically 
make room for the new supply of the regular mixture, but 
such is not the case, for birds, by actual test, ^^■ill not do 
so. Furthermore, one day the feeder will be choked with 
one kind of grain and another day with another, accord- 
ing to the appetites of the birds on different days. With 
an open trough, when grain is left one day the birds will 
invariably eat it up in the next day, especially if a smaller 
portion is given them. Of course, if one particular kind 
of grain keeps accumulating, the mixture can be changed 
and the portion of that kind be reduced. Where there are 
more than one pen of birds being kept, a good plan is to 
carry the grain left over from one nest room to another. 
For instance, birds in one nest room will leave wheat, while 
kaffir corn will be left in another, and still another will 
have all the grain cleaned up, so the left over wheat or 
kaffir corn can be switched over to the pens where there 
was none of that particular kind left, and then the regular 
mixture of feed poured on top of it. Open troughs that are 

76 



placed in the nest room must be protected in some way to 
keep birds from perching on the edge of the trough and 
fouling the grain. The accompanying drawing illustrates 
a simple method to protect the trough, which I believe 
is one of the most practical, for the reason that it is simple, 
easy to construct and efficient. As to the best kind of a 
feed trough, depends on the construction of the nest room. 
If the Eggleston plan of nest room construction is followed, 
feeding boxes or feeding troughs can be placed in the aisle 
outside of the nest room, which will prevent the birds from 
fouling the grain and at the same time place the troughs 
where they are easily accessible and can be quickly filled 
or emptied and cleaned. All pigeons have a habit of 
throwing the grain out of the trough, which causes consid- 
erable waste. They do this while hunting for choice kinds 
of grain. The troughs, therefore, should be built in a way 
to prevent as much of this waste as possible. 

The aisle feeding trough, you will note, is built with 
the two ends and the back higher than the front. This is 
done to prevent the birds from throwing the grain out, and 
if the feed trough is in the aisle the feed thrown out can 
be easily swept up and used over again. By many years' 
personal experience and the experience of others, I find 
that birds should be fed twice a day, early in the morning 
and at noon. There are several important things to take 
into consideration when feeding birds, viz. : to supply feed 
for squabs ten days old or older, which is carried to them 
principally by the male bird; to supply feed for squabs 
under ten days, which is carried to them by both male and 
female, but principally by the female ; to supply feed for 
maintenance of the male and female that have no squabs; 
for the maintenance of the young birds in the loft that re- 
ceive little or no feed from their parents; to supply feed 
to the female that has eggs or very young squabs, causing 
her to remain on the nest the greater part of the day. 

The female sits on the eggs at night and until nine 
or ten o'clock in the morning, and again takes her place 
on the nest about three or four o 'clock in the afternoon. If 
feed is given morning and night, the males and non-setting 
birds will eat up the best portion and choice grain, while 
the female is on the nest, and when they come off for their 
food and recreation, in the middle of the day, they will find 
nothing but picked over and refused grain and generally 
not enough of that. When the female is setting, she needs 
good, choice, rich food. Therefore, by feeding at noon time, 
when the female is off the nest, she will get what she needs 
in the way of feed. There should be enough grain given 
at the noon feed to last over until night. This will give 
the males an opportunity of feeding their squabs after they 
come off the nest at three or four o'clock in the afternoon. 

77 



Tlie females will also have a chance to do some feeding in 
the middle of the day, which will produce larger and fat- 
ter sqnabs than if the female has to hustle for her own feed. 
This wall compel her to leave the bulk of the feeding to 
the male. The birds should be given all they will eat up 
clean at the morning feed and a little left over for the 
youngsters in the loft, which, being less aggressive and 
weaker than the older birds, are crowded away from the 
trough and have to depend more or less upon what is left. 
The males will eat up the choicest grain in the morn- 
ing first. Then take a drink of water and fly to the nest 
and feed their squabs. This will give the squalis the best 
and most fattening food. The food that is left for the old 
])irds will be sufficient in strength for them. The earlier 
the birds are fed in the morning, the better. They gen- 
erally get up at daylight, and if there is any grain left over 
in the trough, from the day before, they will clean that up 
and be waiting for more feed, almost regardless of how 
early you might get up to feed them. 



WHAT TO FEED 

Pigeons are strictly vegetarians. They eat grain and 
seed principally, with a little green stuff, such as grass, 
clover, lettuce or swiss chard. They are very particular 
as to the quality of the grain, especially birds that are kept 
in fly pens. Bad or spoiled grain is apt to make them sick. 

The first opinion of the average person who knows noth- 
ing about pigeons, is that they are like a chicken with ref- 
erence to eating; that is, they think a pigeon will eat and 
thrive on anything, including scraps and slop. About the 
only scraps from the table that a pigeon will eat is crumbs 
of bread, and bread is all right for them because it is a 
grain product, but too much bread is physicing. 

The average person that knows a little about pigeons is 
generally of the opinion that most any kind of grain will 
do, and that an assortment of grain is not necessary. Then 
we have the other extremes who believe that pigeons should 
have a larger assortment of grain than is necessary. The 
latter class is generally confined to a person who has a few 
high grade fancy pigeons, and through his desire to obtain 
the best possible results, regardless of expense, he feeds 
his birds an assortment of expensive grain and seeds, but 
I have not noticed that their pigeons thrive any better than 
those which receive a small assortment of cheaper grain. 

There are several waj's to err in feeding pigeons, 
namely : To overfeed, to underfeed, to feed too expensive, 
and too great a variety of grains ; to feed an assortment of 
grains that are too light in food values, and to feed too 

78 



small a variety of grains, or grains that are not sufficiently 
strong in food values. Then one can make a mistake by 
feeding too great a portion of certain grains, wheat for 
instance, which will, if fed in too great a quantity, cause 
bowel trouble. A well balanced feed scientifically propor- 
tioned is without question the best for not only pigeons, 
but animals of all kinds, including people. But such a 
thing is not always practical, and as several combinations 
of three or four different grains can be selected that will 
be almost a balanced feed, you will not go very far wrong 
by the latter method, which is not hard to follow. 

Three or four kinds of grain is all that is really neces- 
sary to feed pigeons, but care should be taken to see that 
the grain is of a good quality, and that the assortment con- 
tains about the right percentage of the different food 
values. For the benefit of those who do not care to make 
a study of this question, I will give below a few^ simple 
formulas or combinations of three or four different grain 
assortments that contain about the right proportions in 
food values, also specifying gi-ains that can l)e substituted 
for the different kinds mentioned. 

Here are some of the combinations of cheap grains that 
you can depend upon to give fairly good results, and which 
can generally be secured in most any section of the coun- 
try for a reasonable price : 

Kaffir corn, 6 parts; whole corn. 8 parts; wheat, 5 
parts ; Canada peas, 4 parts. 

Buckwheat, 2 parts; kaffir corn, 6 parts; whole corn, 8 
parts ; Canada peas, 4 parts. 

Wheat, 5 parts; cracked corn, 2 parts; whole corn, 6 
parts ; Canada peas, 4 parts. 

Millet, hemp and sunflower seeds can be added to any 
of the above combinations in portions of 1 part to 5 parts 
wheat, and 8 parts corn. 

Milo maize or feterita is practically the same as kaffir 
corn, and either of these two grains can be substituted for 
kaffir corn in part or in whole. All three are splendid 
pigeon feed, and birds should be given all they will eat of 
these grains. 

If Canada peas are not available or too expensive, they 
can be substituted with cow peas, peanuts or soy beans. 
Pigeons, however, do not take very quickly to soy beans, 
and will have to be educated to eat them, and the same is 
true of peanuts, but they will learn to eat peanuts much 
quicker than they will soy beans. 

Wheat, kaffir corn and corn should be made the basis 
in this country of all pigeon feeds, as each of these grains 
are generally obtainable at reasonable prices. 

Your pigeons will to a large degree act as a barometer, 
so to speak, as to the proper proportions of wheat, kaffir 

79 



corn and corn that they should be fed, provided you notice 
which one of these grains they leave in the trough in the 
largest quantity. 

Pigeons, if hungry, will eat all the w^heat, corn and 
kaffir corn you give them, even if it is not in the right pro- 
portion, but they will first eat these grains in about the pro- 
portions they should have, and then if hungry eat the bal- 
ance of the kind that was over in proportion. 

This is also true with millet, buckwheat and sunflower 
seeds, but is not true with hemp, peas or peanuts, as pigeons 
will eat more of these articles than is good for them, until 
they get stalled by an oversupply of rich food, as a child 
would candy or nuts. 

A good practice when feeding a small assortment of 
cheap grain, is to change the feed combination slightly 
once or twice a week. Some breeders switch from one com- 
bination to another daily ; for instance, wheat, kaffir corn 
and peas one day, and wheat, milo maize, corn and peanuts 
the next day. 

Corn is the one grain that contains the largest per cent 
of the different essential food values for pigeons. 

Kaffir com, milo maize and feterita contain about the 
same food value as corn, and each contain more of the dif- 
ferent essential food values than any other grain. Each 
of these grains constitute almost a balanced food,- and either 
could be fed alone for a short period and for a longer 
period by adding a small portion of peas, or pea substitute. 

Cracked corn is not as good as whole corn for pigeons, 
but is necessary in the absence of kaffir corn, milo maize 
or feterita w^hen pigeons have young squabs to feed, as 
squabs less than a week or ten days old can not take whole 
grain corn. But squabs can sM^allow whole corn easily 
after they are ten days old. There is no danger of squabs 
getting choked on whole cori>, for their throats are larger 
than the opening in their beaks, and they can swallow any- 
thing that they can get in their mouths. 



80 



PIGEON FEED 

By Jas. p. Kinnard 
Composition of Feed Stuffs 

The feed of herbivorous animals, poultry and pigeons, 
contains the same four groups of substances found in the 
body, to wit: (1) Water; (2) Ash; (3) Protein (or 
nitrogenous nutrients) ; and (4) Fats; and in addition 
thereto they also contain another class of nutrients called 
(5) Nitrogen-free extracts, mostly carbo-hydrates, which is, 
by far, the most plentiful feed contained in nearly all 
grains and vegetable feeds. Thus it will be seen that there 
is no element contained in the animal body similar to the 
nitrogen-free extracts, or carbo-hydrates, the most plentiful 
of all material contained in seeds and grains. 

Nutrients 

These groups of food materials are called nutrients. To 
a certain extent, at least, these nutrients may replace one 
another, although no nutrient can take the place of pro- 
tein for building tissue and preparing waste of nitrogenous 
materials in the body. The fats and carbo-hydrates per- 
form similar functions, and to a large extent, carbo-hydrate 
materials may replace fat in the food, even when a large 
fat production is demanded of the animal. 

To supply food in the right proportions to meet the 
various requirements of the body, without a waste of food 
nutrients, constitutes scientific feeding. 

Analysis of Feed Stuffs 

A complete analysis of feed stuffs gives in percentages 
the contents of water, ash, protein, nitrogen-free extracts 
(mainly carbo-hydrates), and fats. 

"Water 

Water, or moisture, is more or less contained in all feed 
stuffs, but being more than ordinary water, it has no special 
nutritive value. The more water a feed stuff contains, how- 
ever, the less of the other nutritives it contains, and the 
more liable it is to injury by heating, souring, or molding. 
The water contents of feeds vary. In grains and other con- 
centrates it runs from about 7 per cent to 12 per cent 
but larger in fresh grains. 

6 81 



Nutritive Ratio 

The nutritive ratio is the proportion of digestible pro- 
tein to digestible non-protein, but, as heretofore stated, I 
shall not enter into the digestibility of feeds, except to a 
very limited extent, for fear of making the subject appear 
too intricate and difficult of understanding, and confusing 
to the reader. So in calculating the digestibility of feeds, 
as practically all pigeon feeds have about the same propor- 
tion of digestibility, I shall give only the total content of 
each element, as shown by chemical analysis. 

In calculating the nutritive ratio, the percentage of fats 
(either extract), is multiplied by 21/4, and to his product 
is added the sum of the percentages of nitrogen-free-extract 
(hereinafter called carbo-hydrates), and crude fiber, and 
this total is divided by the percentage of protein, which 
gives the nutritive ratio. To illustrate : If a feed stuff con- 
tains 15 per cent protein, 4 per cent fats, 70 per cent carbo- 
hydrates, and 3 per cent crude fiber. The percentage of 
fats, 4, multiplied by 214 gives 9, to which product is added 
the sum of the percentages of carbo-hydrates and crude 
fiber. Seventy and 3, gives 82, which, divided by the per- 
centage of protein, 15, gives a nutritive ratio of 1 : 5.5, 
nearly, a very fine ratio for pigeons, by the way. 

The percentage of fat is multiplied by 2i/4 times as 
much nourishment as the same percentage of carbo-hydrates 
and crude fiber combined. 



Ash 

Ash is the material left after the consumption of a feed 
stuff with fire, and consists chiefly of lime, magnesia, 
potash, soda, iron, chlorin, and carbonic, sulphuric, and 
phosphoric acids — substances largely used in the forma- 
tion of bones. As a rule a ration composed of a variety of 
feeds contains sufficient ash, or mineral, to supply the body 
of animals, but this is not altogether true with that of 
poultry and pigeons. They must be supplied with a good 
health grit. 

Corn is very deficient in ash, and when fed alone to 
pigeons, it becomes necessary to add ash materials, such as 
are contained in the specially prepared pigeon health-grits, 
composed, usually, of granite grit, sharp sand, ground 
shells, salt, charcoal, and other ingredients containing 
medicinal properties, to assist in grinding the food in the 
crop, in making egg shell, and in addition thereto to assist 
in keeping the body in a good, thrifty, healthy condition ; 
and the addition of ash in the materials mentioned is of the 
utmost importance to pigeons in confinement. 

Corn is good feed, as corn is usually the most plentiful 

82 



of feeds, but, being largely composed of carbo-hydrates and 
fats, it cannot be safely fed alone to animals, poultry, or 
pigeons, because it is deficient in some of the most impor- 
tant elements necessary for the maintenance of the body, 
as protein and ash. 

Protein 

Protein in food is that constituent, or nutrient, that 
forms lean flesh, muscle, ligaments, hair, wool, feathers, 
most of the internal organs, and other portions of the body, 
and is the most important food to be fed, as well as being 
the most expensive. It furnishes material for flesh and re- 
places the wear and tear of the body. Besides furnishing 
material for tissue, it also contains carbon and may be 
burned to form heat and energy, or serve as a source of 
fats or carbo-hydrates in the materials fed, containing a 
deficiency of such nutrients and an excess of protein ; but 
the production of fat, heat, and energy with protein is very 
expensive. Therefore, as protein substances are always the 
most expensive feeds, it never pays to feed an excess of 
protein, such as is contained in cotton seed meal to cattle, 
beef-scraps to chickens, and peas or scrap peanuts to 
pigeons. Besides, an excess of protein is really injurious, 
producing an enlargement of the liver, and a plethoric 
condition of the system, generally. 

For these reasons, feeds very rich in protein should not 
!)e fed alone, nor in too great proportions. 

Fats and Oils 

Fats and oils are used in the animal Ijody as a source 
of fat and also to furnish heat and energy. Animals re- 
quire heat to keep the body warm and energy to run the 
animal mechanism, and do outside work. The beating of 
the heart, eating, breathing, movement of the intestines, 
and the muscular movements, such as of the head, arms, 
legs, wings, require energy furnished by the burning, or 
oxidation of fats, carbo-hydrates, or protein, one pound of 
fat in the feed being ecjuivalent to 214 pounds of carl)o- 
hydrates. 

Value op Fats 

Fat ranks next to protein in value as a food element, or 
nutrient. The more protein and fat a certain class of feed 
stuff contains, the better the quality, as compared with 
other feed stuffs of the same class. Peanuts containing 58 
per cent protein and fats combined is more valuable than 
peanuts containing only 48 per cent protein and fats com- 
bined. Two feed stuffs of different kinds cannot, however, 

83 



always be compared on the basis of their protein and fat 
contents alone, for other factors must be considered. 

Crude Fiber 

Crude fiber is that part of vegetable feeds that resists 
the action of acids and alkalis, and consists mainly of the 
cell walls and woody fiber. It is the most indigestible part 
of food products. The hays and fodders contain large 
quantities of crude fiber, while as a rule, seeds, grains, and 
other concentrated feed stulfs contain only a very small 
proportion of crude fiber. This element is, therefore, of 
but little importance in the consideration of feed stuffs for 
pigeons, their food consisting almost entirely of grains and 
other concentrated feed stuffs, containing but a very small 
proportion of crude fiber. Hence, crude fiber enters but 
very little into the consideration of pigeon feeds, but they 
should contain only small proportions of crude fiber. 
Barley contains considerable crude fiber, on account of the 
husk remaining on the seed, and this explains why pigeons 
do not like barley very much. 

Carbo-Hydrates 

Nitrogen-free extracts (mostly carbo-hydrates), mean- 
ing feeds free from nitrogen, or protein, are composed of 
starch, sugar, dextrin (gum), and other substances of a 
similar nature, and are mostly carbo-hydrates, containing 
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and is the most plentiful of 
all nutrients contained in grains and other feed stuffs suit- 
able for pigeons. 

Value of Carbo-Hydrates 

Most concentrated feed stuffs, consisting of grains, such 
as com, milo maize, kaffir, feterita, wheat, buckwheat, rye, 
barley, millet and rice, are carbo-hydrates and composed 
largely of starches, sugars, and dextrin (or gums) and are 
easily digested and of great advantage to the animal body ; 
while, on the other hand, the nitrogen-free extracts con- 
tained in wheat bran, corn bran, corn cobs, peanut hulls, 
hay, fodder, etc., are composed of other materials than 
starch, sugar and gums, and are of less value as feed stuffs. 
Therefore, the carbo-hydrates, or nitrogen-free extracts of 
these two kinds of feed stuffs cannot be compared. 

Utilization of Foods 

When food is digested, there are considerable losses due 
to undigested food, to losses as gases, and to the work in- 
volved in digestion. The remainder represents the net 
value of the food to the animal or bird. This net food 

84 



value is the nourishuieiit secured from food, after deduct- 
ing all losses involved in the process of digestion. This net 
nutriment must first be used for taking care of the bodily 
needs, and the excess, if any, can then be used for pro- 
ductive purposes. 

The needs of pigeons may be grouped into two classes : 
(1) tissue building materials, for building or repairing 
tissue consumed during the life processes, and (2) energy 
forming materials, which may be used for heat and energy, 
or stored up as fat. Protein is the only constituent of food 
that can be used to repair animal tissue, to build lean meat. 
It is required in comparatively small amounts for full 
grown pigeons, except when they are feeding a pair of big, 
lusty squabs, for squabs are rapidly growing tissue, and 
require large quantities of protein. 

Hence, while mature pigeons, not mated or working, 
that is, raising and feeding their squabs, require only small 
(|uantities of protein, yet when raising squabs, the old pair 
must be fed sufficient quantities of food to sustain animal 
heat and energy and repair waste tissue in their own bodies 
and, in addition thereto, to furnish the necessary material 
to raise a pair of squabs that will in four weeks' time 
nearly eciual the weight of their parents. To enable them 
to do this, the mated pairs should l)e fed a ration contain- 
ing a large proportion of protein, and consequently a nar- 
row nutritive ratio. Hence, j)ractically all grains are more 
or less deficient in protein. There is an absolute necessity 
for feeding pigeons a liberal ration of such protein feeds as 
Canada field peas, scrap peanuts, or soy beans. 

Protein is utilized in building the lean meat and assists 
in maldng the frame of the squab, while the fats and carbo- 
hydrates furnish the fat which keeps its body warm, and 
furnishes the energy to run its animal mechanism. 

TABLE OF FOOD ANALYSIS 

From IT. S Department of Agriculture. 

Water Ash Protein Fibre }f^^^j!^°p Fat 
per cent per cent per cent per cent •^' . per cent 

Corn 10.9 Ts 1(X5 2A 69^5 O 

Peas 15.1 2.4 23.7 7.9 50.2 0.8 

Kaffir 12.5 1.5 10.5 2.1 70.5 2.9 

Maize 12.0 1.4 11.0 3.0 69.7 2.3 

Feterita 11.5 1.3 13.0 2.0 67.4 2.7 

Wheat 10.5 1.8 11.9 1.8 71.9 2.1 

Millet 12.1 2.8 10.9 8.1 62.6 3.5 

Hemp Seed.... 9.0 4.5 21.0 18.0 16.9 30.6 

Peanuts 7.5 2.4 27.9 7.0 15.6 39.6 

Sunflower Seed. 8.6 2.6 16.3 29.9 21.4 21.2 

Buckwheat 12.6 2.0 10.0 8.7 64.5 2.2 

Cow Peas 11.9 3.4 23.5 3.8 55.7 1.7 

Soy Beans 7.7 5.7 35.4 4.6 21.6 20 .3 

S5 



FEEDING BREAD TO PIGEONS 

There is little or no advantage to be gained by feeding 
bread to pigeons except from a standpoint of economy. 

Most bakeries, especially the large ones, have stale or 
unsold bread which they will sell at a bargain. One cent a 
loaf is the usual price this bread is sold for, but often it 
can be contracted for at a cheaper rate. 

If bread can be secured for about that price it can be 
fed to an advantage along with the regular feed or grains. 
Pigeons will not eat bread until they become accustomed 
to it and then only a limited amount. The best way to feed 
bread is to slice it up and let the birds pick the soft centers 
out of each slice, then gather up the pieces, put them in a 
pan of some kind and pour water on to soften the crusts. 
Let the pans of bread remain in the lofts for about an hour 
and then remove them. Throw away the uneaten bread as 
it will sour if left standing, especially in warm weather. 
Care should be taken to give the birds no more than they 
will eat and in this way avoid wasting the bread. 

At first birds will eat but a very little bread, but the 
amount can be increased by feeding them when hungry. 

If you cannot secure bread for less than grain costs you 
per pound it is not worth while to feed it. A little bread, 
however, is not a bad thing and can be given pigeons 
occasionally as a change from a regular diet and in this 
way prove beneficial even though it costs as much as grain. 
At any rate, birds should be taught to eat bread and thus 
prepare for occasions when it might be necessary to feed it 
to them. 



PIGEON MILK 

Young squabs under three or four days old receive no 
grain from their parents. Their food consists of what is 
known as pigeon milk, a gruel substance which forms in the 
crops of both the male and female, about 15 or 16 days after 
they start setting. It takes 1 7 days for pigeon eggs to hatch 
and by this time both parents are provided with this so- 
called pigeon milk with which to feed the squabs. Nature 
provides this pigeon milk for the reason that very young 
squabs are too delicate to receive solid food. The male ac- 
cumulates the gruel or pigeon milk in the crops by the little 
time he sets on the nest in the middle of each day and the 

86 



female accumulates it by a longer daily period of setting. 
When squabs begin to get old enough to receive grain the 
parents eat smaller grain before feeding their young, and 
as the squabs grow the parent bird will eat larger and 
larger grains. At 10 days old an average sciuab can receive 
whole grains of corn with no inconvenience ; and right here 
I might add there is no danger of squabs becoming choked 
on whole grains of corn for the reason they can s^wallow 
anything they can get into their mouth ; in fact, their throat 
is larger than the entrance through the beak. If they can 
eat grain at all they cannot choke on it, for if the space 
between the beak is large enough for the grain to enter it 
will pass into the throat and into their crops without diffi- 
culty. If you have an opportunity some time I would sug- 
gest that you take a young squab a week or 10 days old and 
for your own curiosity put two or three grains of corn into 
its mouth at once and you will 1)e surprised to see how easily 
they will slip down its throat. 



GRIT, SAND AND GRAVEL 

There are several different kinds of grit on the market for 
pigeons composed of various substances and combination of 
substances. Birds that fly at liberty have an opportunity 
to pick up many things in the way of sand, gravel, different 
kinds of dirt, roots, etc., all of which come under the head 
of grit, or at least they are eaten l)y birds for that purpose. 
The small gravel, as it is commonly called, is eaten and 
retained in their gizzards as a part of their digestive organs 
with which the food is ground, while dry sand, clay, roots 
and even pieces of wood are eaten for the chemical sub- 
stances and food values contained therein. 

These two forms of grit are often confused to the extent 
that sometimes one is entirely neglected with the idea that 
the other will take its place. Small gravel or various shapes 
of small, sharp stones cannot be dispensed with for reasons 
just stated, while the other substances mentioned can be 
substituted with various other articles. 

There are several kinds of health grit manufactured and 
sold that contain many of these different articles, including 
salt, sand, Venetian red, small shells, charcoal, wood pulp 
and certain kinds of dirt that are relished more or less 
by pigeons and are probably very good for them, but are 
often eaten only because the birds crave salt and the so- 
called health grit is salty. In such cases I do not believe 
the birds are benefited but are injured by having to eat ar- 
ticles they do not want in order to get the salt they crave. 
If the fly pen is kept strewn with fine gravel or coarse 
sand and a supply of it kept inside of the nest room for the 

87 



young birds, and to be accessible when snow is on the 
ground, other forms of grit may not be essential, but I can 
see no harm in manufactured health grits as long as the 
birds are furnished with plenty of salt so that they will 
not be forced to eat these substances in order to get what 
they want. 

Some very successful breeders supply their birds with 
different kinds of dirt and sand and by a little experiment- 
ing they find just which of these articles contain what their 
birds like. 

The soil in different sections of the country contains dif- 
ferent chemical properties. You might be surprised to 
see pigeons eating a certain kind of dirt ; if you knew the 
chemical properties of this certain kind of dirt you would 
more nearly understand why they eat it. A piece of plowed 
up sod placed upside down in a fly pen will often furnish 
the birds a feast in regards to dirt, grass roots and other 
substances which you might not know was there. 

Certain kinds of old plaster and mortar will be eaten 
mth relish by birds that are confined to fly pens. 

As a final suggestion, therefore, I would recommend that 
birds be given plenty of such articles which can be found 
in most any community and are inexpensive. If they do not 
eat one they will probably eat another, and anything 
they eat, even in very small amounts along this line, will 
prove very beneficial to their health, as nature seems to 
guide them in this respect. 



CHARCOAL 

"While charcoal is probably not necessary to the life of a 
pigeon, it is a very healthy product and should be kept con- 
stantly before the birds. Charcoal can be secured in most 
any poultry supply house and comes in three sizes, fine, 
medium and coarse. The medium size is the best as the 
birds will not eat the charcoal dust and the coarse size is 
too large for them to swallow. 

Charcoal aids digestion, absorbs the impurities that birds 
might get in feed or water and contains other health giving 
properties. It should be kept in small jars in the middle 
of the nest room or in a grit hopper as described elsewhere 
under that heading. 

Charcoal is an extra good remedy for bowel trouble of 
different forms and is especially good to feed the old birds 
when young ones show a loosening of the bowels. 

In order to get birds to eat an extra supply of charcoal 
mix salt with it or pour salt water over the charcoal. 
Sometimes it is necessary to take other forms of salt away 
from the birds for a day or two in order to make them eat 



the salt and charcoal mixture. This is only necessary, 
however, in extreme eases of bowel trouble. The same 
charcoal and salt mixture should be kept before the young 
birds during weaning time and for a few weeks after the 
old birds have stopped feeding them. 

In dry weather it is not a bad plan to throw a few hand- 
fuls of charcoal in the fly pens, as birds seem to enjoy 
picking it up, but this is a wasteful method in wet or bad 
weather. 



OYSTER SHELL 

Pigeons require a certain percentage of lime substances 
to keep them healthy. Their systems require the consump- 
tion of lime in certain seasons of the year and under certain 
conditions more than at other times. The female, however, 
requires more lime than the male as she needs it for the 
manufacture of egg shell. Lime for this purpose must be 
supplied in the form of shells or certain lime stone. Oyster 
shell is probably the best, most convenient and usually the 
cheapest lime containing substance and the one that the 
birds seem to like the best. Clam shells will do, but are 
not as good. Small sea shells are extra fine. 

You must not confuse oyster shell with grit, however. 
Birds need grit with which to grind their food, and lime- 
containing substances do not serve this purpose. Mediumly 
crushed oyster shell should be kept before the birds at all 
times. You can generally secure it in three sizes, fine, 
medium and coarse, at poultry supply houses. The coarse 
is too large and cannot be swallowed by pigeons. The fine 
is so small that there is a lot of waste to it as pigeons will 
not eat the dust. Hence, the medium is the practicable size 
for pigeons. 

The best way to supply oyster shell is in a small recep- 
tical placed in the middle of the nest room or in a grit 
hopper as is described elsewhere under that head. 



SALT 



People who are not familiar with the habits of pigeons 
are surprised to learn that they eat salt, and especially 
when they learn that they eat it in quantities. They re- 
quire a certain amount of salt daily and it should be kept 
before them at all times. Do not give in a loose form to 
birds that might be hungry for some, as in such cases they 
are liable to eat too much, which will make them sick or 
even kill them. 

A bird that is getting all the salt it wants, however, will 
not eat too much even if fed to it in loose form. Some 

89 



people advocate the feeding of rock salt in large lumps. 
Personally I do not favor this plan. It is very hard for 
the birds to get the amount they desire unless the salt is 
wet and sometimes then they get it in too large quantities. 
If a rock of salt is placed out in the fly pen in rainy 
M-eather, salty water will run onto the ground and birds in 
order to satisfy their appetites will eat the salty dirt which 
often is foul and very injurious to them. 

About the best way to supply salt is to artificially rock 
table salt, which can lie done by first moistening and then 
baking it in a slow oven just as it comes in the sack. By 
tying a string around the center of the sack, forcing the 
salt to each end, it will turn to rock easier. These sacks 
should be put in the nest rooms just as they are and the 
birds can get what salt they need by picking right through 
the cloth. They will soon pick holes through the sack and 
can then easily get plenty of salt. The cloth will help to 
hold the lump together and keep it from getting fouled or 
wasted. If after dampening the bag of salt and drying it 
out in the oven it does not seem firm enough, dampen it 
again a little and bake it. The hotter the oven the quicker 
the results to a degree that it does not burn the sack. 
Home-made sacks filled with barrel salt will answer the 
same purpose. 



SULPHATE OF IRON 

Pigeons require a certain amount of iron in their sys- 
tems. In some communities there is plenty of iron in the 
water that they drink, while in others, on account of there 
being little or no iron in the water, it is necessary to supply 
same either in the form of Venetian red or by putting old 
nails or iron in their drinking water to rust. 

It is rather difficult to know just what action to take in 
this matter without knowing the chemical analysis of the 
water supply where the birds are kept. To a large extent, 
therefore, you will have to do your own experimenting and 
be your own judge as to this, remembering that a little iron 
is necessary and that the birds will not eat more than they 
really need, unless forced to do so through thirst or for the 
want of salt which some breeders mix with Venetian red, 
thus forcing their birds to eat more of one article than they 
want in order to get a sufficient amount of the other. 



90 



DRINKING WATER FOR PIGEONS 

Plenty of fresh water is one of the essentials to success- 
ful pigeon raising. One pigeon will drink more water than 
two or three large hens. The water must be clean, other- 
wise it is apt to cause canker or other sickness, especially so 
if birds are confined to fly pens. 

Birds that fly out are not as suscepti))le to canker as 
those that are kept penned up. Even clean water that 
stands in the nest room all night where there are a lot of 
birds is not good for them to drink the next day as it will 
draw a lot of impurity out of the air and is more or less 
foul. I have visited a large number of squab plants where 
small drinking fountains are used and invariably found 
sick birds. Such fountains ought to be filled two or three 
times a day in order to supply a sufficient amount of fresh 
water. Lots of plants are so arranged that the water has 
to be carried some distance and one door after another be 
opened and closed, going to and from the different units 
with pails of water. A few hours ' work on a water system 
will save several weeks time in a year. It will furnish fresh 
water constantly and be better in many ways. Even with a 
small number of birds a water system is a great advantage. 
Voui;g s(|nabs must have lots of water if they are kept in 
good shape. In fact, water seems to have as much to do 
with their putting on lots of fat and growing rapidly as 
does feed. 

In addition to a drinking trough in the fly pen, a drink- 
ing trough should be run through the squab house, or along 
the back of same with openings cut through so that the 
birds can get to the trough. If running water or city water 
is accessible one faucet will supply a whole row of units 
with fresh drinking water, or a barrel can be used with a 
dripping faucet to furnish a supply of running water con- 
stantly. In freezing weather water can be turned on twice 
or three times a day for a short length of time while all the 
birds drink, and if it should freeze it can be thawed out by 
pouring a little hot water in the trough. By making this 
drinking trough V-shaped the birds can drink with only a 
small amount of water in the bottom of the trough, while 
if the trough is made with a flat bottom it will require 
much more water to make it deep enough for the birds to 
drink, which will make it freeze easier and also consume 
much more water. 

Open drinking pans or troughs that permit birds to get 
in or perch on the sides are not practical for pigeons, as 

91 



they will foul the water and then drink it, which will make 
them sick. Drinking fountains that are made with a dent 
at the bottom are the most practical for pigeons in the ab- 
sence of a drinking trough, but even if you have only two 
or three pair of birds it is but little trouble to make a small 
three-cornered V-shaped drinking trough to run along one 
side of the nest room, and either arrange faucets with city 
water or a keg with a faucet that can be filled up once or 
twice a week and the faucet turned on so it will drip slowly 
into the trough. This Mali supply fresh water constantly 
and save much more trouble and time than will be required 
to make the trough and arrange the keg. If the trough is 
placed inside of the nest room it should have a board cover 
with about two-inch space between the board and the trough 
which will permit the birds to drink and at the same time 
prevent them from fouling the water. By supplying drink- 
ing water inside the loft, as well as in the fly pen, it will 
enable the youngsters on the floor to get plenty to drink 
before they are old enough to get out in the fly pen, which 
is very essential. It will also enable a female to fly down off 
her nest any time during the day and get a fresh drink 
while if the water was out in the fly pen she would not want 
to leave her nest long enough to get a drink. Then, too, 
during feeding time the birds often are afraid to spare the 
time to fly out in the fly pen to get water after they have 
eaten, so fly to the nest and feed their young and then fly 
back to get something more to eat before it is all gone, while 
if the water is handy inside the loft they will invariably take 
a drink before feeding their squabs, which is the natural 
and proper way for them to do. 

Remember that plenty of good fresh water is one of the 
necessary things in pigeon raising, and a little time spent in 
arranging a watering and bathing system will save hours of 
time in the long run and assure better success. 



BATHING 

Pigeons of all kinds require a bath once or twice a week. 
In extremely cold weather they will not bathe except on 
bright and sunshiny days. In spring and fall they should 
have a bath once a week and during the hottest weather 
twice or three times a week, depending on the condition of 
the weather. Pigeons like to bathe on dry, sunshiny days 
so they can dry their feathers easily. 

Some people say that pigeons bathe every day, but upon 
investigation they will find that the same bird will not bathe 
every day, but some birds will bathe one day and others 
another, and it might seem, therefore, that the majority of 
the birds in a pen would bathe every day, but such is not 
the case. To supply a daily bath is not necessary. 

92 



Bathing water should not stand before the birds very 
long after they bathe in it for it will become too foul to 
drink, and as birds like to drink out in the fly pen or where- 
ever they happen to be, they will drink the foul water 
which is apt to make them sick. Warm water is also not 
good for the birds to drink in hot weather, as it is likely to 
cause sour craw. Warm water in the winter time, however, 
is good for them. Bath water should be provided regularly 
once or twice a week according to the season of the year. 
Between 32 and 2 o'clock are good hours for bathing, pro- 
vided the sun shines. It is never advisable to supply a bath 
late in the day as they will not have time to dry their 
feathers before night and are apt to catch cold if they go to 
roost with wet feathers. 

Bath Troughs 

I have found that the average squab raiser loses consid- 
erable time carrying water and arranging for baths for 
birds. The most common plan is to have a bath pan 12 to 
16 inches across and four or five inches deep which they set 
inside of the fly pen and carry water by hand to fill. The 
pan is invariably not large enough for many birds to bathe 
at the same time. They will all try to get in at once and by 
their fluttering and anxiety to bathe waste a lot of the water 
and in a few minutes there is not enough left for a bird to 
bathe in. The water is usually dirty on account of being 
splashed over on the mud around the pan and birds walking 
in the mud get their feet muddy and then climb into the 
pan. Such an arrangement takes lots of work and only 
furnishes about half a bath. By very little work a bath 
trough can be made five inches deep, ten inches wide and 
several feet long. The trough should be placed just outside 
of the fly pen with a bath gate to open up on bath days. 
The birds can get to the bath only when the gate is open 
and with a little extra work a drinking trough can be made 
in connection with the bath trough which will permit the 
birds to drink when the gate is down. If there is more than 
one unit or fly pen a single trough can be extended along 
in front of several units and one faucet supplies the 
water for the entire group of pens. As a rule consider- 
able time is wasted in opening gates and doors to get into 
the fly pens or nest houses to furnish water for drinking or 
bathing purposes, but with this arrangement the drinking 
and bathing trough is on the outside and is easily accessible 
for filling, emptying and cleaning. 

In the winter time, in a northern climate, an outside 
trough cannot be used regularly, but on especially warm 
and smishiny days, when the water is not freezing, the out- 
side bath trough can be filled for an hour or so in the middle 

93 



of the afternoon and then as soon as the birds have their 
bath the water can be let out. Birds that have eggs or very 
small young will not bathe except on extremely hot days. 
Therefore, a trough as above mentioned would be ample for 
all the birds that wanted to bathe at one time and will fur- 
nish each of them a fresh clean bath. If city or running 
water is not available a hose can be attached to a pump for 
the purpose of filling the bath troughs, or a barrel can be 
used on a slide either pulled by hand or by a horse. This, 
of course, depends upon the distance the water is to be car- 
ried. If you only have a very few pair of squab breeders 
it will pay to arrange a trougli, on the outside of the fly pen 
for bathing purposes. Of course, in such a case a trough a 
couple or so feet long would be sufficient. But if it is your 
intention to eventually increase your flock it would be sav- 
ing time to make a large trough at the start. These troughs 
should be made out of galvanized iron, cement or wood. If 
made of wood, they must be coated inside with asphalt or tar 
to keep from leaking. If tar is used it should be put on hot, 
which will make it spread much easier. If there are any 
large cracks or holes in the trough they should be plugged 
up and a couple of extra coats of tar applied to the holes 
or cracks and allowed to dry before the trough is given a 
filial coating. 



CARE OF FLY PENS 

The ground in the fly pen should be covered with coarse 
sand or gravel and then about once a week throw a couple 
of shovels of fresh sand or fine gravel in each fly pen. This 
will keep the pens clean and also furnish gravel for the 
birds to eat. Of course, in time the pens will fill up and 
will have to be cleaned out. A good cleaning once a year, 
however, is all that is necessar}^ The dirt mixed with sand 
and droppings that come from the bottom of a pigeon fly 
pen makes the best kind of soil for flowers or gardening. 
Care should be taken not to get the soil too rich. 

Pigeons will not scratch like chickens, hence will not 
dig up fresh gravel in the fly pen, so the gravel must be 
freshened up by throwing in a little fresh every few days. 
This will also keep the pen clean and sanitary. 



94 



CARE OF SQUAB PLANT 

It is not necessary to keep a pigeon plant clean to 
an extreme, but each nest should be cleaned out when 
vacated by squabs or while the S(iuabs are still occupying 
the nest if they appear to be exceptionally dirty. If the 
Eggleston double nest system is used it is an easy matter to 
clean the nest by removing the dirty nest bottom and re- 
placing it with a fresh one. If the nest contains squabs, 
a small handful of clean nesting material should be put in 
first and squabs put on top of it. It is not a good plan to 
clean the nests before s(|uabs are two or three weeks old. 
If they are exceptionally dirty you should change your 
feed. Each nest room should have a thorough cleaning 
about once a month, including the sweeping of the floor and 
sprinkling it with air-slacked lime. If you have a ground, 
cement or cold floor it is not a bad idea to cover the floor 
with a mixture of lime and sawdust, mostly sawdust, and 
just enough lime to make it clean and fresh. 

A good plan with a large plant is to do your cleaning 
by degrees, that is, to clean so many lofts every day, so that 
the time will not be missed and you will get to each loft 
every month. Of course, if you have special help for that 
purpose to come on certain days it would not be practical 
to have him come more than once or twice a week, which 
naturally depends upon the size of your plant and the 
capacity of your help. 

Some of the most practical squab breeders never have a 
general cleaning day. They keep house on the same plan 
as a good housekeeper by keeping everything in order, 
cleaning the dirtiest nests as they need them and sweeping 
out the plant most every day, and in this way they do not 
miss the time and the plant is always clean and orderly. 



LICE MITES AND OTHER VERMIN 

The same lice or mites that get on chicks will also bother 
pigeons. Then there is a pigeon louse and a feather louse, 
but if pigeons are kept in a clean place, that is white- 
washed two or three times a year, and tobacco stems are 
used for nesting material they will not be bothered by lice 
or vermin of an,y kind. Whitewash and lime is not only a 
good preventative, but it will destroy the lice if the house 
and nest are sprayed with it. 

The feather louse as a rule is harmless and does not 
bother the birds except certain times of the year. 

Mites that get in the nest and on the eggs and young 

95 



ones are probably the most destructive and birds are apt 
to be bothered with mites some time before detecting it for 
the reason that you cannot see them on the old bird like 
lice, but if you examine your squabs you can find the mites 
under their wings and, as a rule, on the side of the head. 
If mites are discovered on small squabs the best thing to do 
is to change the nests, sprinkle the squabs with Lambert's 
Death to Lice or Persian Lisect Powder. The former, how- 
ever, is much more economical and just as effective. It can 
be obtained from most any drug store. Dip your nest bot- 
toms in carbolinum and all vermin will stay out of the 
nests for a year or more. 

A good plan is to put a small amount of crude carbolic 
acid and a small amount of crude petroleum into the white- 
wash before using. By sprinkling dry lime on the floor of 
the nest room the birds will fly from place to place, scatter 
the lime all over the room, in fact, every little crevice will 
be filled with lime dust. Air slacked or hydrated lime is 
the best to use, as it will not burn the pigeons' feet if they 
get it on them and then get their feet wet in any way. Yet 
it is just as strong and powerful as the other kind. A 
little sulphur in the bathing water when birds are lousy is 
not a bad plan, provided you can get your birds to bathe in 
it, but the easiest and surest way is to keep the house well 
whitewashed and to use tobacco stems for nesting material. 
When they are not convenient, or obtainable, an ordinary 
moth ball dropped in the corner of each nest box acts as 
good lice preventative. 

Pigeons bathe regularly and can keep themselves clean, 
which is one reason why they are not bothered very much 
with lice. Chicken lice do not seem to stay on pigeons very 
long at a time. They are very annoying and destructive, 
however, during the period that they stay and will cause 
pigeons to leave their nests and often make them slow up 
in their work, besides causing the squabs to be small and 
poor. So it is well to guard against them even though they 
are not a permanent nuisance. 

Should it be your misfortune to have your birds in or 
near an old chicken house, or one that is alive with lice or 
mites, and should these pests get a hold on your squab 
plant to such an extent that a mild treatment does not seem 
to do the work, you can clean the entire place of lice and 
mites by one gigantic effort if you proceed as follows : 

First take out and burn all the unused nest material, 
feathers and dirt from your squab house and the surround- 
ing yard, then start in with your first nest room. Dip each 
bird with a warm solution of sheep dip, which is a coal tar 
product and can be purchased at most any drug store. To 
dip the birds use a good size bucket with sufficient enough 
liquid to enable you to immerse the bird completely under 

96 



except its head. Care should be taken not to get any in its 
eyes. As a preventative it is not a bad plan to grease the 
bird around the eyes with a little vaseline or tallow. The 
dip should be diluted with warm water to about one-half 
the strength required by the directions. 

When dipping a bird, churn it up and down a time or 
two in the liquid so that it will get completely wet clear 
to the skin, otherwise the feathers, being oily, will not take 
hold. After the birds are dipped put them out in the fly 
pen to dry, provided it is a warm day. They should not 
be dipped except on warm sunshiny days so that they will 
dry quickly. 

If the ijottom of the fly pen is inclined to be dirty it is 
best to lay down a few boards for the birds to sit on while 
drying. Treat each old bird in this manner and put them 
all out in the fly pen, then have a bucket of whitewash 
ready and whitewash the inside of the nest room while the 
birds are drying. Nests ^^dth any young or eggs can be 
taken out during this operation. 

In order to keep from getting eggs or squabs mixed, 
and so that you may know the exact nest they belong in, 
it is well to provide some boxes to put them in, numbering 
the boxes to correspond with the nest numbers the squabs 
came from. Young squabs that cannot walk will naturally 
be more easily cared for than those that are old enough to 
walk and will not stay where you put them. 

I would advise that most of the old nest material be 
destroyed and be replaced with nests made of fresh ma- 
terial, first covering the bottom of the nests with air-slacked 
lime. A good plan is to dip each nest bottom, provided 
your nests are of the removable type, as they should be. 

After you have whitewashed the nest room, paint a 
strip six or eight inches wide clear around the nest room 
next to the floor with crude petroleum or coal tar thinned 
with gasoline. You can use an ordinary paint brush for 
this. Then shut the doors and windows tight and spray 
each nest with naphtha or disledge, the latter being the best 
and can be obtained from most any fair sized drug store. 
You should tie a sponge or wet cloth over your mouth and 
nose before spraying, as the disledge is apt to make you 
sick if you breathe too much of it. The spraying can be 
done with an ordinary insect sprayer or most any kind of 
an atomizer, the larger the better. Leave the house closed 
up for twenty or thirty minutes, then open up and let it 
air out before the birds are permitted to go back, otherwise 
the fumes of the disledge will make them deathly sick and 
will even cause them to throw up their feed. As soon as 
one ne'st room is completed, proceed to another until the 
entire plant has been covered. 

As previously stated, this is quite a severe method, but 

7 97 



it will do the work and thoroughly rid you of lice and 
mites if you cannot get rid of them any other way. If this 
operation is performed on a warm day it will not be neces- 
sary to keep the eggs or squabs warm except to throw a 
light cloth, over them and keep them out of the air. Be 
sure and allow birds you dip enough time to dry off thor- 
oughly before night. The sheep dip will not dry as quickly 
as water and will give them a greasy, dirty appearance for 
some time afterwards, but they will get rid of it, however, 
by bathing in due course of time. If you have a large 
plant naturally it will require several days to get through 
as you cannot work early in the morning or late in the 
afternoon. But once you go through the plant as directed 
you can feel certain that you have no more lice or mites to 
contend with. 




RED CLOUD 

An Undefeated Champion 



98 



HOW TO BAND 

Small bands or rings are placed on the legs of pigeons 
as a mark of distinction or identification which is necessarj^ 
for several reasons, namely, to keep a record as to the age 
and parents of a bird ; to be able to tell which pair are mated 
and to be able to tell what pen a bird is out of, and to be able 
to readily distinguish male from the female. The age of the 
bird is told by the date on what is called the year band. 
These are small narrow seamless bands and are made so 
small around that they cannot be slipped on or off the old 
bird's foot. They can be put on only young birds in the 
nest about two to three weeks old. When the^^ are older 
than three weeks their feet joints are so large seamless bands 
will not slip on. These bands, however, are large enough to 
allow plenty of room for the growth of a bird's leg. On 
these seamless bands are usually a number which can be 
recorded for various purposes, such as telling from what 
parents the bird came, as proof that that particular bird 
won or did not win a prize at a pigeon show% etc. These 
seamless bands are only necessarv for birds that are being 
raised for show purposes, otherwise inexpensive, open or re- 
movable bands will do. Some breeders band their birds with 
two bands, one to determine the pen or loft that they came 
from and the other to determine mated pairs and the nest 
l)ox they occupy. By using different color bands with num- 
bers thereon one band on each bird is sufficient for both 
these purposes. There are several systems of numbering 
and color banding, but I think the following plan is easiest 
to keep track of and the most serviceable: For instance, if 
you have 30 pairs of birds in a nest room, select three color 
bands for that particular nest room. For example, white, 
pink and light blue. With numliers arranged from one to 
ten in each color. Band the males on the right leg and the 
females on the left, using the same number and color for 
each pair. All number bands come in duplicates so as to 
supply the same number and color for the male as for the 
female. Make a record on or over the door of the nest room 
of the band colors and numbers to be used for that pen. 
That is, write "White 1-10," "Pink 1-10," "Light Blue 
1-10." In the next nest room use "red," "yellow" and 
"green." In the next, "orange," "cherry," "dark blue," 
etc. There are two objects in using three colors for each pen. 
First, if you desire to find male number 6 with white band 
your number of birds in the pen that are likely to be the bird 

99 



that you want are reduced to 9, as there are only 9 other 
cocks in the pen with white bands, while if 30 cocks in the 
pen had white bands it would be three times as difficult to 
find the desired bird. Second, by using bands of different 
colors you can keep your numbers to a small denomination, 
which will also render you service in picking out special 
birds, for the reason that single numbers, such as 1, 4, 6, etc., 
are much larger and more easy to see than double numbers, 
such as 13, 15, 16, etc., and as a rule you will find it is hard 
to tell the first or second figure where numbers in two fig- 
ures are used. You can see one figure but will not know 
what the second figure is as it is partly on the other side of 
the bird's leg, or you can see the second figure and cannot 
tell what the first figure is. Another thing, if a number gets 
a little dirty it is difficult to distinguish 13 from 15, 16 from 
18 or 19, or to tell the difference between 23, 25, 26, 28 or 
29. These numbers look more or less alike when part of 
them are covered up with dirt, but with a large single 
figure on a band the number can be readily told clear across 
the nest room or fly pen. This plan of having three colors 
to each pen uses up the various colors very fast, which is 
about the only objection to this plan, but as the only ad- 
vantage to be gained by having different colors for differ- 
ent pens is to be able to tell what pen a bird came from in 
case it should get loose. I do not consider that offsets the 
advantages of the three colors to the pen system. Then, 
besides, the pen a bird comes from can generally be told 
when a bird gets out as it will invariably be found close 
to the pen that it came from, and even with a large plant 
birds banded with white, pink or dark blue, for instance, 
would be quite a ways from any other birds banded with 
one of these colors. Then if there is any doubt a search 
could be made to see if the bird with that band number and 
color and of the same sex was in that pen. 

About the best way to band birds according to pairs is 
to wait until they start to work. A female will be found 
on the nest early in the morning or late in the afternoon ex- 
cept when she is laying when she might be found on the 
nest at any time. The male will be found on the nest during 
the middle of the day. When a bird is banded, mark the 
number of its band on the nest box in a conspicuous place. 
With a letter signify the color of the band after the num- 
ber, "w" for Avhite, "p" for pink, and "b" for blue, etc. 
Then, . if it is a female, make a dash following the letter, 
and if a male that is banded, signify the same by a straight 
up and down mark after the number. When both birds 
have been banded, the dash and straight up and down mark 
will form a cross. By this method you can look in the nest 
room and see at a glance which birds are banded, which are 
not, and if a female is banded and you are there in the 

100 



morning you will know that it is a female by the dash fol- 
lowing the number and letter and it will not be necessary 
to bother the bird or catch it to see which leg it is banded 
on. The same is true if a male is on the nest, and your 
marking shows that a male has been banded. When one 
bird of a pair is banded take the other corresponding band 
and hang it on the wire in front of the nest room ready 
for use. Then you can tell by looking at the bands on the 
wire just how many birds yet unhanded. With my nest 
room plan there is an aisle between the nest room and fly 
pen and a wire partition between the nest rooms and aisle 
and by hanging the band on the wire on the same side that 
the nest is on it is easy to find the band for any unhanded 
bird. 

A good plan is to tack a small card on the outer edge of 
each nest on which to record band numbers of the old birds 
for that nest and the date and the number of squabs that 
are taken out of each nest. An ordinary express tag makes 
a good card for this purpose. But a better plan is to 
record nothing on the card at the nest box but the band 
number, color and the cross as explained above, then have 
a card or a little day book hung outside the door of each 
nest room and record on same the band number and band 
color of each pair in that nest room. Innnediately after 
the number make a monthly record of the number of 
squabs each pair produces. 

After a number of birds have been put into a nest room 
and each pair is banded for that nest room, the male on the 
right leg and the female on the left, and the numbers and 
colors of each band are recorded on the edges of the nest, 
then all of the unmated birds in that nest room should be 
removed and placed in with unmated birds for the purpose 
of securing mates, or if you are positive as to the sex of 
the birds removed it is a good plan to shut up in pairs to 
mate as many males with as many females separately as 
needed to fill out the allotment for the nest room. That is 
to say, if 60 birds were put into a nest room to start with, 
40 birds have mated up and are banded, the remaining 20 
birds should be removed from that nest room and either 
placed in a pen with other unmated birds out of which can 
be selected pairs as fast as they mate up, banded and put 
back in the original nest room and their numbers recorded 
on the nest as fast as they laid and started to work, or 10 
females should be shut up with 10 males in 10 separate 
mating coops and as fast as they mate up should be banded 
and put back in the original nest room. The latter plan 
would be a little faster than to merely put them into a pen 
-with other unmated liirds as two pigeons will mate up 
quicker in a mating pen than any other way. If a bird 
dies its mate should be located and taken out and mated 

101 



up with another bird, then banded with the same bands 
and put back in the same nest room. If a pair is taken out 
for any reason the band should be removed from their legs 
and saved to be put on another pair for that pen. 



NESTING MATERIAL 

Pigeons build their own nests out of small twigs, coarse 
hay, straw, etc. Tobacco stems cut up into short lengths is 
the best material. All that is necessary is to put the nest- 
ing material within reach of the birds and they will carry 
it to their nests one straw at a time. You cannot help them 
any or hurry them along by putting the material in the 
nest for them as they prefer to build their own nests. 

The value of tobacco stems for nesting material cannot 
be overestimated as the straws are about the right size, 
round and pliable and are liked by the birds. Added to 
these qualities the tobacco stems will tend to keep away lice 
and to keep the birds healthy. 

Tobacco stems can be secured from cigar factories at a 
small cost, generally 50 or 75 cents a hundred. 

The short, curly Havana stems are the best, but if these 
cannot be secured the large, coarse kind will do if cut up 
into lengths 8 or 10 inches long. A good way to cut them 
up is with a corn knife, hand ax or hatchet, using a block 
of wood to chop them on. They can be cut up with a heavy 
pair of scissors, but this is a rather slow process. 

Alfalfa hay makes a splendid material for nests as it is 
short, round and plibale. StraAV does not make very good 
nesting if it is used alone as it is so straight and flat that 
the birds cannot weave it into a nest of any shape, but 
birds like a little straw along with other material to make 
a soft nest lining out of. Pine needles are recommended 
by some as good nest 'paaterial and are also claimed to keep 
lice away. Having never personally used pine needles, I 
cannot give any definite information regarding them. 

Birds like an assortment of material for nest making, 
therefore, where it is convenient it is well to give them some 
of several materials, such as prairie and alfalfa hay, wheat 
or oat, straw and tobacco stems. 

This will not only please the birds better, but will save 
the tobacco stems yet give them enough tobacco stems to 
act as a lice preventative. 



102 



HOW TO SELECT YOUNGSTERS FOR 
BREEDING PURPOSES 

The size of your flock, the size the flock is desired to be 
increased to, the time of the year, and the rapidity in 
which you desire to increase has considerable to do with 
the method. However, there are several cardinal principles 
you must follow when saving young birds for breeding 
purposes, and the closer you follow these principles, the 
fewer exceptions you make, the better will be the results. 

To start with, if you save youngsters from inferior 
pairs, naturally those youngsters will not be as good for 
breeding purposes as the youngsters saved from your best 
pairs. What I mean by best is breeders that are of a good 
average size, good type, and have produced a large num- 
ber of fat, healthy squabs. The parent must necessarily, 
therefore, besides other qualities, be motherly, good feeders 
and domestic. Youngsters saved from this class of breeders 
will, on an average, prove better all around birds and more 
dependable for squab producing purposes than youngsters 
saved from birds which are too large, too small, or out of 
breeders slow and lazy or poor feeders. By the latter term 
I mean a bird that does not feed or take care of its squabs 
well. If an old bird comes from a good strain, and is not 
quite up to the standard itself, its youngsters are often 
superior to youngsters produced by birds of an inferior 
strain, even though they are of a fair size and type. This 
is a point worth consideration. 

The best time of the year to save youngsters for breed- 
ing purposes is in the winter or spring, for the reason that 
tliey will grow to maturity, pass through the moult, mate 
and start breeding before cold weather, and then continue 
to breed all winter ; while birds that do not get old enough 
to mate before cold weather are apt to sit around all win- 
ter and not start to work until spring, but there is no set 
rule on this. I have found that youngsters will not pro- 
duce many squabs before they are eight or nine months 
old, and in the long run, it is about as well to mate them 
up at that age as it is to crowd them. It is never a good 
plan to save every youngster for breeding purposes, even 
if you are in a hurry to increase your flock. 

Care should be taken when selecting youngsters to save 
an equal number of each sex. As the largest and best look- 
ing squab is invariably the male, and the small, inferior 

103 



looking squab the female, you will find the majority of the 
birds saved are males unless you guard against it. As a 
rule, there is a male and a female in each nest, so it is a 
fairly safe method to save both birds or nest mates, instead 
of just the best looking ones. Some breeders, in order to 
guard against saving more males than females, use a small 
open band and band the smaller of the two nest mates, when 
they are about three weeks old, taking for granted that the 
smaller one is a female. Then when they take out squabs 
to market they leave the banded bird in the nest, and the 
next time they are around taking out squabs, they know 
that the single bird in the nest is a female. Otherwise, if 
they have a large plant and could not remember, they would 
naturally conclude that there was only one bird raised in 
the nest, and it was a male. If just one egg hatches, it is 
invariably the male, and if a bird dies in the nest, it is gen- 
erally the female, for the reason that the male is stronger, 
as a rule, and will come nearer picking its way out of the 
shell and wdth more vitality will be less apt to die than its 
sister. If you should make a mistake and save more 
females than males you can easily secure enough odd males 
from some other breeder to even up your stock, but if you 
save more males than females, it is very hard to secure 
the necessary odd females, for the reason that most all 
breeders have a surplus of males, and are short on females. 
If you are breeding for color, as well as size, type and other 
qualities, you can judge your birds fairly well after they 
are about three weeks old, to such an extent that the best 
color could be saved. With Carneaux, for instance, when 
solid reds are desired, all youngsters that have light or slate 
colored rumps will invariably prove to be splashes, or 
slates, after they shed their baby feathers, and about as 
much can be told regarding color at three w^eks old as 
later on until after they have gone through their first molt, 
which takes place when they are about three months old. 
Most all Carneaux look to be solid reds when they are 
squabs, but at the time they molt out their second feathers, 
they then take on their permanent color. The same is true 
to a large extent with other varieties. Personally, I am 
opposed to breeding for color unless you are desirous of 
raising show birds or birds for exhibition purposes. 

There is very little or no advantage in color from a 
breeding standpoint. In fact, there is more often a dis- 
advantage. Birds of one color will produce as good and 
as many squabs as birds of the same breed of another color. 
The only question is the color of the meat or skin. Dark 
meated squabs do not bring as good a price as white meated 
ones, and birds with dark beaks and dark, muddy colored 
feathers invariably bring dark meated squabs. Black birds, 
if their feathers are clear, real black and not muddy look- 

104 



ing, will breed squabs with almost as white meat as will 
birds with white feathers. Again, referring to Carneaux, 
dark billed birds with slate or dark feathers are more apt 
to breed dark meated youngsters than birds with light 
beaks (no slate or blue) and light colored feathers. White 
feathers on Carneaux are no objection, because red and 
white is their natural color, and, in fact, on an average, 
they are better than the solid reds or solid yellows. Let 
me illustrate. The natural color of Durham cattle is red 
and white or roan. If a breeder of Durham cattle would 
decide to draw the color line and only keep his red calves, 
or those that had no white, for breeding purposes, he would 
from the very start be forced to sacrifice other qualities 
for color, and in a short time he would find his herd below 
its standard from the standpoint of milk, butter or beef. 
A cattle breeder would laugh at you if you were to even 
suggest his discarding all but his solid colored calves, and 
would tell you he would be doing away with many of his 
best colors from his best breeders. 



GATS, RATS, ETC. 

Cats will eat squabs, but can be kept out of the plant 
with little trouble. The birds should be wired in, and any- 
thing that will keep a pigeon in, will keep a cat out. The 
presence of cats around the plant is an advantage as an 
enemy to rats and mice, provided cats are kept out of the 
nest rooms and fly pens. Cats that have been raised from 
kittens in a squab plant are not liable to bother the squabs 
or breeders, especially so if they are fed regularly. 

Rats are very destructive and their elimination is a 
problem that all squab breedere have to solve. If a squab 
house has a floor high enough off the ground to permit cats 
or dogs to get under, this will prevent rats from accumu- 
lating under the floors. If no floor is used, a layer of 
cinders several inches or a foot thick can be put down in 
the bottom of a squab house and then dirt or clay packed 
on top. Rats cannot bore in cinders successfully, the sharp 
edges of the cinders are too much for them. About the best 
plan is to dig a trench a few inches wide and 18 inches deep 
around the outer edge of the squab house. Then nail a one- 
inch mesh wire to the lower edge of the squab house, allow- 
ing the wire to extend down into the trench. Fill the trench 
up with dirt and you have Mr. Rat barred from your place, 
provided there are no holes above the ground that a rat 
can enter through. This plan can be used with or with- 
out a floor, and with such a plan it is not necessary to build 

105 



a squab house up off the ground, which will permit you to 
bank up dirt around j^our plant in the winter time to keep 
out the cold. Cold floors are very bad for pigeons. Wire 
or other traps can be used successfully for catching rats or 
even poison can be resorted to if there are no cats and dogs 
to eat it or the poisoned rats. 

While mice do not eat squabs or bother the eggs, they 
are very annoying around a squab plant, are great con- 
sumers of feed, and bother the pigeons more or less by get- 
ting into their nests. The feed supply should be kept in 
a mouse-proof bin or receptacle ; old boxes, buckets, barrels 
or other articles should be kept off the floor in a manner 
that will not permit mice hiding under or behind them. 
One of the best mouse traps I know of is a small box, partly 
filled with cotton, feathers, shavings, or paper, and placed 
on the floor of the squab room with a small hole in the bot- 
tom corner, big enough to allow mice to pass in and out. 
If there are any mice around, they will soon adopt the box 
for their home ; the box can be carried out every few days 
and opened over a half tub of water; the mice will jump 
out into the tub and drown. Then the box can be put back 
into the nesting room for another catch. The longer such 
boxes and their contents are used, the more readily will the 
mice occupy them. 

Every time a rat or mouse hole is found in your squab 
house, you should nail a piece of tin or a thick block over 
it, which will prevent them from getting a start in your 
plant. 



THIEVES AND BAD BOYS 

The element of danger from thieves or bad boys bother- 
ing pigeons can in many ways be guarded against. A high 
fence along the exposed sides of the plant, an electric light- 
ing system that can be turned on from the residence and 
expose the presence of anyone in the plant at night, or the 
presence of a good watch dog, are good precautions. But 
the possibility of being bothered by boys or thieves is not 
great, for the reason that there is no ready local market or 
immediate demand for grown pigeons and they cannot 
therefore dispose of them promptly like chickens, and the 
percentage of saleable squabs in the nests is so small that 
the danger of their being stolen is remote. 



106 



SPARROWS, HAWKS AND OWLS 

The sparrows have become so uumerous throughout the 
country that it is necessary to guard against them, other- 
wise they will consume an enormous amount of feed. They 
are so bold, cunning and daring that they will find and 
enter a remote opening, fly right into a nest room and 
almost take possession of same. 

Inch mesh wire is the best protection against sparrows. 
In this way they can be kept out of the fly pens and there- 
fore out of the squab house. 

Hawks and owls do not bother pigeons if they are kept 
in fly pens, for the reason that they cannot get through 
the wire, but hawks often prey upon pigeons if they fly 
out. They are more apt to catch the young birds that are 
just learning to fly, but often dart down and pick up an 
old one. 

Owls will only bother pigeons in the country and not 
then unless the birds occupy a barn loft or some place 
where the owls can conceal themselves in the day time and 
prey upon the birds at night. 

As a whole, however, there is little to fear from hawks 
and owls, as it is harder to catch old birds and young ones; 
are not usually in a place where they can get to them. 

If sparrows bother to any great extent they can be dis- 
posed of double quick by soaking wheat or other small 
grain in alcohol for a couple of hours or over night, then 
scatter the wheat out where the sparrows can eat it. When 
they do it will make them drunk and they can be picked up 
by the basket full if there are that many. The wheat sbould 
be placed somewhere so that the pigeons or chickens, if you 
have any, cannot get to it as it will affect them the same 
way and if they get too much it will kill them. It takes ten 
or fifteen minutes for the sparrows to topple over after 
they eat the soaked grain, but they do not get far away as 
it begins to affect them immediately. 



107 



MOLTING 

Like all other feathered animals, pigeons molt (shed 
their feathers) once a year. They commence to molt in the 
summer and finish getting their new feathers before cold 
weather, and thus nature has provided a w^ay for them to 
keep cool in hot weather and warm in cold, and at the same 
time be annually supplied with a new suit. 

During the molting process a bird will shed every 
feather, but only a few at a time, so at all times they are 
partly covered with feathers and have enough so they 
can fly. At the height of the molting period, however, it 
is sometimes difficult for some birds to fly, especially if 
they have not molted out evenly, which is sometimes the 
case, caused by poor condition or insufficient feed of the 
proper feather producing value. Birds require food dur- 
ing the molting period with a lot of oil in it. Sunflower 
seed, millet, hemp or peanuts are all good feather pro- 
ducing feed, sunflower seed being the best for the purpose, 
millet next. 



WHAT TO DO WHEN THE FLOCK IS 
MOLTING 

By W. E. MusHET 

Probabl}^ there is no period in the life of the pigeon 
that requires more attention than during the time of molt- 
ing, not only on account of the breaking down of the mus- 
cular tissues, owing to natural conditions, but also the 
drain on their vitality incidental to the production of a 
complete covering of new feathers. 

Too great care cannot be given birds during this trying 
ordeal. At this time the birds are more than ever sub- 
ject to ailments and while they may have gotten bravely 
over their moltings, many trovibles which are apparent later 
may be traced directly to adverse conditions, which, under 
ordinary circumstances, would be of little importance. 

To sum up the matter briefly, I would suggest that all 
lofts be thoroughly cleaned before molting and disinfected 
with sheep dip or some other germicide, pigeons be kept 
free from draughts and made as comfortable as conditions 
^\'ill allow. Bathing should be provided for at least twice 

108 



a week, care being taken that bath is emptied to prevent 
the pigeons drinking foul water. 

Breeding during the molting period should be discour- 
aged as much as possible, and no squabs should be raised 
for breeders until the molting season is entirely over, as 
the energies of the parent birds are centered on recuper- 
ating their natural activity and not on feeding their off- 
spring. Observation exercised with good conunon sense on 
the part of the individual breeder will accomplish more 
than a general dissertation on what should or should not 
be done at this critical period, as the different breeds of 
pigeons have characteristics peculiar to themselves and 
what might be applicable to one loft might not be to 
another. 




109 



PIGEON DISEASES AND REMEDIES 

On this subject I am not very capable of advising 
except as to one chief remedy, viz. : that birds should be 
handled in such a way as to keep them healthy, thus pre- 
venting disease and making medicine unnecessary. 

There are various common diseases that pigeons are 
more or less afflicted with and some of these are harmless, 
while others prove fatal. Later on I will describe some 
simple remedies that I have found to be fairly effective, 
but cannot vouch for them except in a small way. 

Pigeons are just like people and pigeon doctors are just 
like all other doctors. One will have one theory and one 
remedy for a certain disease, and another something en- 
tirely different. If a person gets a headache or stomach 
trouble, one doctor will prescribe certain medicines. 
Another doctor will tell you that you need electrical treat- 
ments, another that a change of climate is necessary or a 
visit to certain springs, or forms of violent exercise or 
dieting will bring about certain results, while another doc- 
tor might want to massage it out of you and still another 
pronounce you incurable. All of these various character- 
istics are found in pigeon doctors, so you can see what a 
person would be up against trymg to follow the various 
remedies offered by people with different experiences and 
ideas. To this I might add that no one seems to under- 
stand the delicate make-up of a pigeon and its anatomy 
as some of our leading physicians do the human anatomy. 
Then, too, it is hard to proportion remedies for such a 
small being as a pigeon and hard to detect the results. 

You cannot feel a pigeon's pulse or take its tempera- 
ture successfully or ask it to describe its ailments. So, as 
a whole, doctoring pigeons is not a successful undertak- 
ing and the best we can do with any degree of success is 
to, first, keep pigeons well by giving them proper food and 
water and other supplies and, second, if they do get sick, 
take a chance on some simple remedy that cannot harm 
them, even though it might not do them much good. 

The following are a few symptoms and simple remedies : 



110 



ROUP AND GOLDS 

During rain or cold weather and certain seasons of the 
year, and especially in the sections of the country where 
there is more or less dampness, there is danger of pigeons 
contracting colds and roup. 

The best remedy for any disease is a preventative and 
this is especially true with colds and roup. The same 
thing that will cause birds to catch cold will cause them 
to catch more cold if the cause is not removed. All the 
medicine in the world will not cure a bird in the presence 
of drafts, damp lofts or other unfavorable conditions. As 
with people, plenty of fresh air is necessary, but the ad- 
mittance of air and the nest box arrangement must be so 
that birds will not be exposed to drafts and can keep warm 
and dry. 

One of the first things to do for birds with a bad cold 
is to give them a slight physic. A tablespoonful of epsom 
salts to a gallon of water given the birds the first thing in 
the morning is about the best way to give physic. All 
other water must be kept from them, otherwise they will 
not drink the water with the salts in. Next see that there 
are no drafts in the loft, especially near the floor. If the 
floor is cold you will find the air circulation is wrong or 
that the wind blows under the house. Cold floors are very 
bad for pigeons. For this reason I do not favor building 
the house up off the ground. A thorough cleaning out of 
a nest room, using plenty of dry lime and dry nesting ma- 
terial, a change in the air regulation, plenty of fresh water 
for the birds to drink, and a change in their feed will 
break up colds or roup nine times out of ten. For severe 
cases give the bird a pinch of dry sulphur twice a day and 
place in a warm, airy place, away from the other birds. 
There are other remedies that no doubt have lots of merit, 
but doctoring pigeons is hard and uncertain as to results. 
Therefore, preventatives are better than cures. 



Ill 



''GOING LIGHT " 

On this subject I will submit an article which I origi- 
nally wrote for the National Squab Magazine. When birds 
are getting thin, they invariably are not receiving a suf- 
ficient amount of good food, and birds that are especially 
weak and thin can be best doctored by putting them in a 
place by themselves, where they can get an extra amount of 
choice grains, charcoal, grit, oyster shell, and plenty of 
fresh water. A dose of epsom salts, used at the ratio of 
about one tablespoonful to a gallon of water, is a good rem- 
edy in case birds are in a rundown condition. This is also 
a good bowel remedy if given not oftener than once a week. 
A little epsom salts will generally give the bird that will 
not eat an appetite, giving them water with salts in, as 
described above. In order to get them to drink such water, 
however, it is generally necessary to take all the water 
away from them in the afternoon and then give them water 
with salts in the next morning. Birds often become sick 
or "under the weather" during the molting season. Hemp 
or sunflower seeds are good feather food producers, and a 
little fed along w^th the morning feed is a good idea. 



"GOING LIGHT" IS NOT A SPECIFIC 
AILMENT 

By E. H. Eggleston 

(In National Squal) Magazine) 

It seems strange to write a story about something that 
one does not believe in, but the term "going light" is so 
common among pigeon raisers that they all know what is 
meant by it. I for one do not believe that there is such a 
disease. That some pigeons may get poor, run down and 
become weak is not denied, for that is a fact, but that there 
is a certain ailment known as "going light" is denied. 

Pigeons are very healthy, and the percentage of deaths 
from disease is extremely small as compared with chickens. 

If a person catches a bad cold, which runs into bronchial 
trouble, asthma, or tuberculosis; or, for instance, has poor 
digestive organs, we generally know the cause of the poor 
health and call it by its proper name ; whereas, if a pigeon 

112 



suffers from aiiv of these troubles we sav it is "going 
light." 

Bad or impure feed, dirty and impure water, damp 
lofts and unsanitary conditions, will all be instrumental 
for a bird losing its appetite, and as a result "go light.'' 
If a bird gets a sour crop, a case of constipation, running 
off of the bowels, an inactive liver, a clogged gizzard, or 
even a severe cold, it will eat but little, if anything, and 
naturally "go light." Hence a certain remedy to cure 
"going light'' would not suiilice. That which would be 
good for a cold or a sour crop might not be beneficial for 
some of the other ailments mentioned. 

Before one can intelligently doctor a bird, he nuist lirst 
diagnose its trouble or at least form a conclusion as to the 
cause. 

The old saying about an ounce of prevention being 
worth a pound of cure especially applies in the pigeon 
business. The proper care and attention and a simple rem- 
edy given at the first sign of sickness will keep pigeons in 
the best of condition. 

Birds that get siek sliould be put in a pen by them- 
selves, where the\- will not be botliered by the aggressive 
cocks in the loft. Such a place should afford plenty of 
light and fresh air (no draught), be warm in winter and 
cool in sunnner. They should be provided daily ^^•ith fresh 
water, grit, salt, charcoal, oyster shell, and have plenty of 
appetizing food. 

A good plan is to apply the same general principle of 
treatment to a }>igeon as one would to a person, using one's 
best judgment as to how much treatment is practical and 
profitable, and basing opinion u]ion knowledge of what 
can be accomplished. 

Editor's Note 

Supplementing JMr. Eggleston's foregoing sensible talk, 
it is also noteworthy that the most connuon cause for 
"going light" is lack of nourislnnent. The pigeons actually 
are starved for want of nonrishiiig grain like Canada peas 
and pigeon peanuts. "Going light" is also seen in females 
driven too hard by the males. Such females should be re- 
moved from the breeding pen and rested. There is no germ 
cause for "going light." 



113 



DISEASES AND REMEDIES 

By John S. McCreight, Atlanta, Ga. 

Pigeons in general have fewer diseases and ailments 
than chickens and less doctoring is necessary. There are 
times, however, when a little medicine or tonic is absolutely 
necessary, and if given in time will prove beneficial to those 
needing it and act as a preventative to those not afflicted. 

Pigeons are active and full of life when in good health, 
and are without doubt the liveliest and most hustling family 
of the feathered tribe. 

A bird when off his feed or sick is soon noticeable. You 
will see it huddled off to itself, feathers all turned up and 
its head in between the shoulders. You know the moment 
you see it that something is wrong. 

Now, to find what is the matter. Catch the bird and 
examine its throat ; see if there are any sores or ulcers in 
the throat. If you find yellow pimples you doubtless have 
canker. 

If you find nothing wrong with the throat, examine the 
"craw." If it is full and mushy and the breath of the bird 
is bad, you have ' ' sour craw. ' ' 

If neither of the above are found and you are not ex- 
perienced in pigeon raising, you are rather up against it. 
There are a good many things that would make the bird act 
the way it does. If a young female, she might be egg- 
bound, or the bird might be going light. If you cannot de- 
termine what is wrong, pull out the bird's tail — all the 
feathers — give it half teaspoonful of castor oil and put in a 
coop by itself. Give plenty of fresh water and some stale 
bread crumbs and a little hemp. The chances are that with 
this treatment the bird will be all right in a few days. 

It takes very little medicine around the loft and a 
mighty good idea is "not to doctor" — go on the principle 
of leaving well enough alone. Should you happen to need 
medicine for a sick bird, will give you a few remedies. 

A tonic to put in their drinking water that I have used 
for several years and found very satisfactory is given below. 
I have given this every spring and every fall and it is about 
the only tonic I use. It will be filled at any drug store and 
costs in Atlanta 35 cents. 

Tonic : Copperas, one-half ounce ; sulphate of soda, four 
ounces; gentian root (powdered), one-half ounce; phos- 
phate of soda, two ounces, and pure creosote (Beechwood), 
one dram. The creosote must first be rubbed well in a 

114 



mortar with about 40 grains of calcined magnesia. Put the 
creosote, after being prepared, in two quarts of hot water, 
stir well and gradually add the other ingredients, then set 
away and keep in a cool place. Dose : One tablespoonful 
to a gallon of water, and have no water in the fly. Give 
them this once or twice a month and it will likely keep 
them in good condition. 

Diarrhoea : Two drops of laudanum. Put bird in dry, 
clean coop ; no water or feed for twenty-four hours. Repeat 
dose in six to ten hours, if needed. Feed toasted, very 
brown bread crumbs for a couple or days, then a little hemp 
and then on regular feed. 

Canker: Put in the bird's throat, on the sores, some 
burned alum or you can use a little tincture of iodine. 
However, my remedy is the axe and I immediately break 
up the mating that produced the canker squab. Watch 
this pair carefully and see which of the parent birds is 
responsible and get the one responsible out of the loft. 

If a bird doesn't eat like it should and shows a poor 
appetite, give one grain gentian root. 

Epsom salts is used by a great many in the summer. 
Put a teaspoonful Epsom salts to a quart of water and give 
no other drinking water. For a large number of birds 
increase the quantity in the same proportion. 

Cod liver oil is good to use on a bird off its feed. Dose : 
Three drops at a time, say, three times a day. 

Hypophosphites of lime and soda is also fine for a 
"going light" bird. Dose: One-fourth of a grain, three 
times a day. 

Sour Craw : This is caused from several causes, chief 
of which is not feeding the birds regularly. You miss a 
feed and then the birds get very hungry. When you do 
feed them they eat too much, drink water and the food 
becomes sour before it is digested. The treatment is to hold 
the bird upside down and gradually work the food out of 
its craw. Don't try to get the food out too rapidly, but 
work easy and gently. Give the liird a little fresh water 
when you have the craw cleaned and bread crumbs. Let 
it stay in the coop until it is well, gradually adding grain 
to the daily feed until able to go on regular rations. 



115 



SORE EYES 

The principal cause of sore eyes among pigeons is colds, 
due to dampness or overhead drafts. The symptoms of 
sore eyes caused from colds are : First, swollen eyelids, 
followed by a slight discharge and gummed up eyelids to 
the extent of total closing of the eye. To cure sore eyes 
caused by colds, cure the cold by removing the cause, then 
nature will take its course, provided the birds are accorded 
the proper treatment, such as plenty of fresh air, good 
wholesome feed and pure water. The first thing in sore 
eyes, colds, or most any other ailmnt for that matter, is 
to see that birds' bowels are active, yet not loose. This 
can be regulated by the feed given, add a little more wheat 
to your feed mixture if birds seem to be bound up, and 
if the bowels are too loose reduce the portion of wheat. 
Charcoal is also a good bowel regulator, especially if the 
bowels are too loose. If the eye is glued shut, soak the 
lids loose by applying warm water, with the aid of a clean 
soft cloth or cotton. If this is not convenient, hold the 
bird's head with the closed eye up and spit in it, allowing 
the spitum to flood the eye for a minute, when it will come 
open. This sounds like an unclean remedy, but it is a 
good one nevertheless. In fact, spitum is good for most 
any kind of sore eyes. 

Canker will cause sore eyes, but if the canker appears 
on the side of the head near the eye you can always tell 
a canker sore eye by the presence of a hard lump on or 
near the eye. These lumps are apt to be of most any size 
from a grain of wheat up to a lump almost as large as the 
bird's head. This form of canker is not serious and can 
be removed by cutting a large enough slit in the skin with 
a sharp knife to permit the cankered lump to be squeezed 
out. The wound will bleed a little when cut, but not to 
hurt anything, and will stop bleeding as soon as the 
cankered lump is removed. There will be no blood at all 
from the inside of the cankered lump or the pocket it is 
in. The wound will heal up innnediately and the bird will 
get well. 

When several birds are confined to close quarters or in 
shipping crates, they sometimes pick each other in the eye, 
which will make it sore. There is nothing necessary in 
such cases, as the eye will heal in a few days, although it 
may look very bad at the time. If a bird sho^^ld in any 
way lose an eye they will work and produce as many good 

116 



squabs as they would with, two good eyes. They, of course, 
will not look as well with one eye, but are just as useful, 
A good rule is to save a one-eyed female and kill the one- 
eyed males. 

There are some good eye remedies on the market, but 
the percentage of sore eyes is small with a good flock of 
healthy birds and the cure of all such diseases is so uncer- 
tain with pigeons that it is hardly worth while to doctor 
them, except in extraordinary cases with birds of special 
value. 

Lumps on Wings 

Lumps on pigeon wings are generally due to a sprained 
or dislocated joint, as a rule caused by rough handling and 
catching of birds or by catching them by one wing and 
allowing them to twist or turn around and thereby dis- 
locate a wing joint. Nature tries to heal the place aud as 
a protection grows a grisel-like substance over the affected 
part; the bird cannot use the joint, which effects or en- 
tirely prevents its flying. Very little can be done for a 
broken, sprained or dislocated wing. 

The next usual cause for lumps on wings is canker. 
This is a different form of canker that appears in liirds' 
mouths and throats. Lump canker it is called, and while 
it often appears on the wing, it is just as apt to form on 
any other part of the body. This can easily be cured by 
splitting the skin and flesh over the bump and take the 
lump out as is explained in cutting canker lumps from 
eyes. 

By examining bumps that appear on the wings one can 
readily tell a canker Immp from one caused from an in- 
jury. The canker bump will stand out farther from the 
body and you can easily detect the canker substance inside 
before it is opened. Then there is what is known as a dis- 
eased joint, which seems to be more or less hereditary, 
sometimes caused by close inbreeding. These diseased 
joints are thought by some to be tubercular in form. If 
so, it seldom hurts birds and they will live for years, and 
keep up constant work. 



117 



SORE FEET 

If pigeons are allowed to stay in a dirty loft or walk 
on muddy ground, they are apt to suffer with sore feet, 
which is caused by the dirt sticking to the bottom of their 
feet and causing the skin to crack and bleed. The rem- 
edy for this trouble is to soak the dirt off with warm water, 
then grease the feet mth tallow mixed with turpentine or 
lard and turpentine. Tallow is better than lard. The tal- 
low must be warmed before it will mix with turpentine. 

If sore feet are not taken care of the trouble will be- 
come chronic. Rough calloused growths will appear on the 
bottom of the feet and feathers will start growing on these 
sore places until the bird will get so it can hardly walk. 
Turpentine and lard or tallow is about the only remedy 
and a dry, clean place for the bird to stay until its feet are 
well. 



MUD BALLS 

Muddy pens or lofts will cause birds to get mud 
balls on their toe nails, and if not taken off will keep get- 
ting bigger and bigger, like a snow ball, and cause the bird 
to lose its toe nails, and sometimes go lame. The way to 
get the mud balls off without pulling the toe nail off is to 
cut them off with a knife. You will find the ball the thin- 
nest on top, and by cutting or splitting the mud ball along 
the top of the nail, holding the toe as you would sharpen 
a pencil, you will find it no trouble to get the ball loose 
from the toe without damaging the nail or making the toe 
bleed. 

Squabs in the nest will sometimes have mud balls form 
on their toes due to dirty nests, which generally comes 
from bowel trouble. In such a case the nest should be 
cleaned out, fresh nesting material put in the nests, the 
mud balls removed from the birds' toes as above explained, 
and then change the feed or conditions that caused the 
birds' bowels to get out of order. 



118 



SOFT SHELLED EGGS 

A soft shelled egg is one that is covered only by a tough 
skin and is without the hard egg shell covering. This is 
generally caused by the old bird not having been provided 
with a sufficient amount of oyster shell or other limey sub- 
stance. Bobbing the old birds ' nest a couple or three times 
in succession wall also cause soft shell eggs. Pigeons are 
not like chickens in this respect. A hen will lay any num- 
ber of eggs consecutively, and invariably be able to manu- 
facture a sufficient amount of shell to cover her eggs, but 
a pigeon is only intended to lay two eggs, and then set 
and raise their young to two or three weeks of age before 
laying again. 

Once a pigeon lays soft shelled eggs, it is necessary to 
keep her from laying again for at least a month ; if not, 
she will probably continue to lay soft shelled eggs. The 
best thing to do when a soft shelled egg is found, is to put 
the pigeon that laid it to setting by substituting an egg 
with a good shell in her nest, even though it is an unfertile 
or old egg. If it is an unfertile egg take it away from her 
after two weeks' setting, just before she has accumulated 
pigeon milk in her crop. Then after a week or ten days' 
rest, she will lay again, and the chances are her eggs will 
be properly shelled. If the egg is fertile, let her hatch it 
and take the squab away from her after it is four or five 
days old, allo\^dng the time for her to feed up the accumu- 
lated pigeon milk in her crop. Or if you wish you can 
allow her to raise the squab in the usual way. 



BARREN FEMALES 

Some females, for unknown reasons, cease to be pro- 
ducers, that is, they quit laying. If such birds will mate 
up and build nests, they can be utilized as foster mothers, 
by merely giving them a couple of eggs to set on in their 
nests. Such birds are called "barren females." They will 
hatch and raise squabs as well or better than some regular 
mothers. 

I have put barren hens to work by making a nest for 
them, and putting the eggs in it. Of course, it is neces- 
sary for them to have a mate, and a nest box they claim 
for their home, otherwise they will not want to set. 

A "barren" hen often comes in good play when you 

119 



have special squabs to raise ; that is, one you desire to give 
special attention to on account of it being from a prize 
winning pair, and you desire to divide the squabs up into 
two nests so that each will receive the entire feed and at- 
tention of a pair of old birds. 

If a "barren" female will not set on other birds' eggs 
and will not lay any herself, turn her out, kill her or give 
her to someone who wants a useless pet. 



WHEN BUT ONE EGG HATCHES 

OR 

WHEN ONE SQUAB DIES 

The number of squabs per pair can be increased a good 
percentage by the management of a squab plant, which in- 
cludes keeping the birds up to their full capacity. A good 
pair of squab breeders will, with proper food and loft con- 
ditions, feed two or three squabs successfully. The thing 
to do, therefore, is to double up the single squabs with 
others the same size and by relieving the parent birds of 
the care of the single squab they will go back to work and 
lay a week or two sooner than if the squab was left in their 
nest to care for. 

This plan can be carried on successfully to the extent 
of taking two squabs from a nest, placing one each in two 
other nests, making six squabs in two nests, instead of six 
squabs in three nests. The squabless pair will re-lay and 
in the course of several months the time gained in this 
manner will make a noticeable increase in the number of 
squabs raised. 

The transferring of squabs should not be done until 
four or five days old, so that the parent bird will have a 
chance to feed out the pigeon milk in her crop and the 
squabs should be given to birds that are the best feeders. 

Often a pair proves to be good layers, but are not good 
feeders, which can be determined by the size and condi- 
tion of their squabs. Such pairs can be kept fairly busy 
laying and the best feeders be given extra work to do in 
the way of squab feeding. 

If your loft is small and you only have a few birds, 
it may be necessary for you to do some extra shifting or 
juggling of squabs to accomplish your purpose. That is, 
you may not have other birds with squabs the same age as 
the pair you Mash to rob. In such a case you can double 
the largest squab in a nest with the largest in another nest 
and the two smaller ones the same, then put your extra 
squabs in the nests with squabs nearest their size. Often 
by increasing or decreasing the size of the squabs in two 

120 



or three nests by transferring them from one nest to 
another, you can double up odd squabs to an advantage 
when on first thought one would think it could not be done. 
The best time to transfer squabs is just before night when 
the female is on the nest, and when she will go back to 
the nest (if she leaves it when you are making the change) 
hurriedly and not stop to notice that there are strange 
birds in her nest. If the young ones are about the same 
size and color, it will make no difference and they can be 
changed most any time of the day. If squabs are well 
feathered and of a different color, it is best to watch the 
old birds to see if they take kindly to the strangers in their 
nest, as they are apt to fight and kill them under such con- 
dition. As a rule, the parent bird will feed and care for 
any squab you put in the nest, unless there is too great a 
difference in the size and color, and some birds will not 
draw the line at that ; they seem to take it for granted that 
all squabs in their nest are theirs. 

The plan of doubling up squabs cannot be followed very 
successfully in cold weather as the old bird cannot keep 
three squabs warm as well as she can two. 



HOW TO TELL THE PERIOD OF 
INCUBATION 

When a pigeon egg is first laid it has a clear trans- 
parent look, which it loses by degrees as it is set on, until 
it becomes very opaque, and has a bluish, slick cast just 
before the squab is hatched. By comparison, and a little 
experience, one can closely estimate the length of time an 
egg has been set on. This knowledge is essential when run- 
ning a squab plant of any size ; for it is frequently neces- 
sary to switch eggs from one nest to another, and eggs so 
switched should be of about the same length of incubation 
as the eggs with which they are put. This is necessary in 
order to have them hatch about the seventeenth day after 
the old bird went to setting. If they hatch sooner than 
that time, the old bird will not be able to feed them, on 
account of not having any accumulated pigeon milk in its 
crop, and if they do not hatch within eighteen or nineteen 
days, the old bird will likely leave the nest before the eggs 
are hatched. 

Some breeders follow the plan of robbing a nest and 
putting the eggs in a couple of other nests, making three 
in each nest, and in this way allowing the birds whose nest 
was robbed, to lay two more eggs and again start to set- 
ting. This is not a bad practice, provided the parent birds 
of the three squabs are able to keep them well fed and fat. 

121 



which depends something upon the feeding qualities of the 
old birds, and the kind and supply of feed they are getting. 

I think it is a good plan to rob all nests that have but 
one egg on account of the other egg having been broken 
or laid on the floor. I also think it a good plan to rob each 
nest that has but one squab in it, and double that squab 
up with some other nest with a single squab, or with two 
other squabs that are being well fed and are of about the 
same age. Squabs should not be taken out of a nest, how- 
ever, until four or five days old, for the reason that it is 
necessary to the health of the parent bird that they feed 
out the supply of pigeon milk that has accumulated in their 
crops while setting. 

Parent birds are not able to distinguish their young 
ones from any other ones until they are feathered out ; 
therefore, they will feed any other squab about the same 
size as their own if put into their nests. They go more by 
what is in their nests, than what the squab looks like. If 
there is too great a difference in size, however, they are apt 
to kill strange young ones put into their nests by picking 
them on the head or back. Some parent birds will become 
foster mothers quicker than others, and some will care for 
and feed any number of scjuabs put into their nests, almost 
regardless of size or color. You can easily determine this 
by watching the parent bird go back to its nest after you 
have put the squab in. If they are going to fight the 
squabs at all, they \\dll do so at once. 

By a little planning and manipulation, extra squabs 
can be placed around in a loft to an advantage, and so 
that they will be cared for by the old ones. A three weeks 
old squab, for instance, can be doubled up with the larger 
bird in a two weeks old nest, and the smaller bird of that 
nest doubled up with the squabs in a week or ten days old 
nest. Parent birds will not feed their squabs in any other 
nest but their ovni, unless squabs are around four weeks 
old, and then they will feed them if on the floor, or if they 
are shut up together, but they would not go into a strange 
nest and feed their squabs even at that age. 

Eggs that are found on the floor or in a fly pen should 
he gathered up and put in a nest wdth other freshly laid 
pggs, or such eggs can be saved some time before setting, 
and handled the same as you would hen eggs, by turning 
them over every day or so. A pigeon will not set in any 
other place except the nest where they laid their eggs, and 
only then immediately after the eggs are laid. 



122 



WHEN BOTH SQUABS DIE BEFORE THREE 
DAYS OLD 

If scjuabs die in hatching:, get trampled to death or die 
before three days old, it is a good plan to give the old birds 
a squab from another nest for a day or two in order that 
they can feed out the pigeon milk that has accumulated in 
their crops. In doing this it is all right to give them a 
young one a few days older than the ones they lose, as they 
will feed the larger bird just the same and even if it is old 
enough to receive grain, pigeon milk will not hurt it, and 
the old birds will feed it grain also. 

The only precaution to take in such a case is to see that 
the old birds do not fight the strange squab, which they 
might do if there was ^^oo much difference in size. 

If the young die in hatching, a young squab can be put 
in the nest along with an egg or two and the parent bird 
will accept it as their own. Just before night is the best 
time to make such a transfer and always before the old 
birds have abandoned the nest, which they will do in a day 
or so after eggs fail to hatch or almost immediately after 
squabs die in hatching. 

The transferred or loaned squab should be left in the 
nest only a few days, then taken away and the old birds 
be allowed to re-lay and go to setting again. (See article 
on "If One Squab Dies.") If the parent birds are good 
feeders and they for some reason lose one or both squabs 
or their eggs do not hatch, the transferred squabs can be 
left with them and the other pair be put back to lay again. 



ONE SQUAB SMALLER THAN THE OTHER 

This subject is practically covered in the article en- 
titled "When One Squab Dies," as the process of switch- 
ing squabs into other nests are the same. That is, both 
the larger and the smaller squabs should be paired up with 
other squabs of their size, by changing them to other nests. 
If this is not done, the larger squab will continue to get 
larger and the smaller one will stop growing. 

There is usually a slight difference in the size of two 
squabs in a nest, but when one squab is considerably larger 
than its nest mate, the larger one is evidently getting more 
than his share of the feed and the larger and stronger he 
gets, the more apt he is to stretch his neck and head above 
his weaker nest mate at fpcding time, with the result that 

123 



the old bird will give him the feed and the little one will 
go without. Some old birds will see that both the squabs 
are fed even though one is smaller, but as a rule such old 
birds bring their young ones up in even size; therefore, 
when one squab in the nest is larger than the other, you 
can take it for granted that the old bird is not feeding the 
smaller one and that one or both the birds should be 
switched to another nest. It is not a bad plan to switch 
the larger bird and leave the small one in the nest for a 
few days for the old one to feed, after which it can be 
switched and the old birds put to work. 



OLD BIRDS THAT ABANDON THEIR EGGS 

Birds will abandon their eggs for several causes. Lice 
or mites will cause them to do so, and dirty or foul nests 
will cause them to abandon them or leave their eggs. Some- 
times they will leave without apparently any cause, except 
that they seemingly get tired of setting on them, and some- 
times this becomes a habit with pairs. 

About the best thing to do in such a case is to re-mate 
them or give them some young scjuabs to feed after they have 
set on their eggs about a week, taking the eggs away from 
them. The squabs will necessarily have to be old enough 
to eat grain, as the parent birds will have no pigeon milk 
in their crops at this stage of setting. Care should be taken 
if squabs are put in their nests to see that they are fed and 
that the old birds do not fight them, as is explained else- 
where. 

Naturally, if birds abandon their eggs on account of 
lice or mites, the proper remedy should be applied to rid 
them of same, and if the nests are too foul they should be 
cleaned. Young pairs of birds will often abandon their eggs 
before hatching the first time, but later will stick to the 
nest until the eggs are hatched. Some males will not do 
their turn on the nests towards the last end of the incuba- 
tion, preferring to put their time in flirting with other fe- 
males, and this as a rule will cause the female on the nest 
to desert her eggs. Some females will give up setting in 
order to get out with their mate. The remedy for this is 
separation and re-mating with different birds. 



124 



SQUABS THAT LEAVE THE NEST TOO 

SOON 

The principal cause of squabs leaving the nest before 
time, is lack of feed or water, too hot or stuffy nests, being 
neglected by their parents or because the nests are so near 
the floor that they can easily get out to meet their parent 
birds when they come to feed and water them. 

This is one of the objectionable features of allowing 
birds to nest on or near the floor. After a squab gets the 
habit of running around on the floor, it is hard to get it 
to stay in a nest and generally they wall become poor and 
stunted. About the best way to remedy this condition is 
to transfer squabs from nests on the floor to other nests 
before they get very old. Some old birds will persist in 
building on the floor. When they do their eggs should be 
taken away from them a couple of times and the pair 
changed to another nest room. (See article, "Birds that 
Nest on the Floor. " ) As a rule only poor squabs leave the 
nest too early and the longer they are out the poorer and 
more scrubby they get. Sometimes such squabs can be 
induced to stay in a high nest, but if not a couple of slats 
tacked across the front of the nest box will prevent them 
from climbing out, yet permit the old birds to feed the 
young through the spaces between the slats. 

About the best thing to do with poor runty squabs is 
to kill them and try and change the conditions that caused 
them to get poor, or that caused them to leave the nest too 
soon and then become poor. An underfed squab becomes 
stunted and will never improve very much. If allowed to 
grow up they are generally under sized birds and inferior 
in many ways. 



WHEN TO REMOVE SQUABS FROM 
NEST ROOM 

Squabs that are to be kept for breeders should be left 
in the nest until seven or eight weeks old. This is a much 
longer period than is practiced by the average breeder. The 
parent birds, especially the male bird, will feed squabs quite 
a while longer after they leave the nest, and if there are 
several birds in a nest room there will most likely be sev- 
eral pairs that are feeding youngsters on the floor after 
they have left the nest. In such cases squabs, six, seven 
and often eight weeks old will receive on the floor some 

125 



feed from the parents of younger squabs. In this way 
youngsters receive some help until they get past the deli- 
cate age. 

Squabs that are left in the nest room a few weeks after 
they are weaned, seem to get a much better start and do 
much better after they are taken out of the nest room and 
put to themselves. One thing that benefits squabs is to let 
them remain several weeks in the nest room after they are 
weaned, is that they learn the location of the water foun- 
tain or trough and the feed boxes during the time when 
they are receiving some feed from tlie old birds. Young- 
sters often die for the want of water if transferred when 
too young to a pen where the watering arrangement is 
hard to get to, located in another portion of the room or 
of different construction than was used in the room they 
were transferred from. The best plan is to provide the 
same watering and feeding system for each pen. 

The best plan, especially with a large plant, is to catch 
and remove squabs from the nest room to the rearing rooms 
once a w^ek, having a special time for same each time, tak- 
ing out only a few of the largest and most thrifty ones 
from seven to eight weeks old. 



HOW TO CARE FOR SQUABS AFTER THEY 
LEAVE THE NEST 

As stated in my article, ''When to Remove Squabs 
from Nest Eoom," squabs should be left in the nest room 
with their parents until about seven or eight weeks old, at 
which time they should be removed to a separate compart- 
ment, where they can be given special care and attention. 
Young pigeons at that age are, as a rule, very delicate, 
easy to catch cold, and sometimes lose their appetite to 
such an extent they become very weak and often die. 

There are four necessary things to the successful care 
of a young pigeon. ■ First, they must be provided with a 
room which has plenty of fresh air and free from drafts. 
The room must be at all times dry, warm in tlie winter and 
cool in the summer. Special precaution must be taken 
to guard against colds in a climate where the days are 
warm and the nights cool. Under such conditions the tem- 
perature of the room should be regulated by opening the 
doors in the middle of the day and closing them at night. 

If the floor of the room is damp, it is best to place some 
low boxes around the wall or run a little shelf around the 
edge of the room for the youngsters to run on. Often 
there is a draft that can hardly be detected an inch or two 
off the floor, that will cause young birds to catch cold. 

126 



They are very susceptible to a draft, and too much pre- 
caution cannot be taken to guard against it. 

Second, a sufficient supply of good feed must be pro- 
vided for the young birds. As a rule they are small eaters 
just after they are weaned, and unless a constant supply 
of rich, nourishing food is kept before them, some of the 
youngsters will not eat enough to keep them alive. One 
can well afford to feed birds at this age choice and more 
expensive food than is usually required, for the reason that 
they will eat but little anyway, and the added expense for 
good food will be more than made up in the results secured. 

A good variety of grain should be furnished so that if 
a bird does not like one kind of feed, there will be a chance 
of it liking another. Young squabs are very finicky when 
it comes to eating. Some will pick at nothing except white 
or light colored grains, while others will pass up everything 
but dark colored feed. Some will try to pick all of the 
large grains such as large peas, while others will eat noth- 
ing but small grains. I have even seen them refuse to eat 
anything larger than millet. Therefore, a good assortment 
of grains is necessary, which should include a small per- 
centage of hemp, and especially so in cold or damp weather 
when birds do not seem to eat freely. 

The feed should be kept in a convenient place and not 
very far away from where the youngsters are in the habit 
of staying. 

Third, a good supply of fresh water must be kept with- 
in easy reach of the youngsters. The water should be 
warm in winter and cool in the summer time. Hot water 
in summer is apt to give squabs a sour crop and if the 
water is too cold in the winter time, they will not drink 
freely of same. Water should not be allowed to stand any 
length of time in the squab house, as it draws impurities 
and young birds are very susceptible to ailments. 

Fourth, a good supply of grit, oyster shell and charcoal 
must be kept within easy reach of young birds. A mixture 
of one part salt and five parts charcoal, measured by weight, 
is a splendid thing for young birds. The salt will cause 
them to eat the charcoal, which aids their digestion and 
keeps them healthy. Salt will also make them thirsty and 
lots of water is very beneficial to youngsters. A good plan 
is to sprinkle coarse sand or grit on the floor dail.y. They 
will find the gravel in this way, while if it is put in a re- 
ceptacle they will not see it and are not apt to eat it if 
they do. 

I favor the same nesting arrangement for young birds 
as for old ones (that is the double nest box system as is 
described herein), for the reason that it furnishes plenty 
of roosting places, and for the birds that want to get back 
where it is warm they can roost in the nest, while others 

127 



would prefer to roost out on the running boards. In this 
way the weaker and timid birds have protection against 
the stronger ones and are not forced to roost on the floor. 

A nest room, 8x10, "wath 40 double, 80 single nests, will 
amply accommodate 100 youngsters, and that is about as 
many as should be kept together. 

Youngsters should be separated into groups, according 
to their age and strength, and a good plan is to go around 
once a week and take the stronger ones out and transfer 
them to a pen of old birds, and put in their place young- 
sters just taken out of the nest rooms away from the old 
ones. In this way the weaker birds will not be pushed 
back or fought from the feed and water by the old and 
stronger ones. 

Until youngsters get to be about eight or ten weeks old, 
they should not be allowed to get into the fly pens, except 
in the most comfortable weather, and even then it is not 
necessary. On cold, damp days or extremely hot days, even 
youngsters three or four months old should not be per- 
mitted to fly out into the fly pens. They are going through 
their second plumage at this time and are very delicate. 
Some successful breeders do not provide fly pens for birds 
until after they are old enough to mate, but you must 
understand that youngsters require plenty of light and 
fresh air. This does not apply to squabs while in the nest 
rooms with their parents. 

Young birds that become very poor and thin should be 
separated from the stronger birds in the pen and be placed 
where they can be given special attention. I have found 
that a good sized box with a wire over the top a splendid 
place for such birds, as it is warm and dry with plenty 
of light and fresh air. One advantage of the box is that 
it can be moved to a suitable and comfortable place in the 
day time and put back out of the damp air at night. It is a 
difficult matter to doctor up young birds after they have 
once become sick and the best remedy that I know for same 
is to prevent them from getting in this condition by the 
proper care in advance. 



128 



WHEN BIRDS GET OLD 

The active working life of squab raising pigeons is about 
six years. Some birds will do good work until eight or 
nine years old, others will let up at five years and some 
even in four, so about the only way to tell the age when 
a certain bird will cease to be profitable is to keep a check 
on it. If you do not keep an absolute record of all your 
birds you can easily keep a record of the empty nests, and 
if you notice that certain nests are occupied right along, 
but do not contain eggs or squabs, you can soon locate the 
pair that claim the nest, and if that pair doesn't go to 
work within a reasonable time you know there is some- 
thing wrong. 

In such a case I would advise that you first separate 
the pair and remate the hen with a young cock and the old 
cock with a young hen. The chances are each pair will go 
to work shortly and do well ; if not, one pair will proba- 
bly go to work and you can separate the other pair, remate 
the young bird, and make soup of the old one. 

Sometimes old birds will let up for a period and then 
go to work again and do as well as ever. These non-pro- 
ductive periods generally take place after molting and 
sometimes last until the following spring. Sometimes they 
get run down and get out of condition during the molting 
and then fail to get back into condition until spring. This 
is particularly true with a female that is being driven too 
much after the molt by the cock. In such a case it is best 
to separate her from the cock and give her a chance to pick 
up a little weight. 

Then often the molt has just the opposite effect on 
birds. They start to gaining weight towards the end of the 
molting season and soon get too fat and lazy to work. In 
such cases the best remedy is to underfeed them a little 
until they get down to normal condition. Often the molt 
will effect different birds in the same loft differently. Some 
will get thin and some too fat. So the same remedy cannot 
be applied to all the birds in a loft. Any that are too fat 
should be caught and put to themselves, and those that are 
not working for the want of strength should also be put 
to themselves when they can be given a little extra at- 
tention and a little richer food. 

If you conclude that you have birds too old to do good 
work, first try them out with other mates, then if they do 
not produce results, the only thing that you can do is to 

9 129 



kill them or turn them out to rustle for themselves. You 
should, however, not jump to a conclusion, as many birds 
stop working from one cause or another for short periods, 
that if properly handled would be good squab producers 
for several vears. 



INFERTILE EGGS 

An overcrowded loft, improper nest arangement, not 
enough feed or feed with too little food value, or improper 
loft conditions will all tend to cause eggs to be infertile. 
Often, however, it is the direct fault of the birds. Some- 
times one or both of the birds are too old to be serviceable. 
Sometimes they are too young. The first eggs of a young 
hen are not apt to hatch and it is not a bad plan to throw 
them away after they have been set on a few days or a week. 
It is always good to give a young hen a little experience 
setting before she lays again. 

Some breeders advocate giving a young hen other eggs in 
place of her first ones, but I do not think this an extra good 
plan for too often a young hen will not prove a good mother 
and it is just as well, therefore, to let her get a little older 
before requiring her to mother and feed squabs. 

Infertile eggs can be told by the transparent appearance 
of the eggshell. If an egg looks clear after it has been set on 
several days it is infertile and should be thrown away before 
the parent birds have set on the nest long enough to create 
pigeon milk in their crops. ( See article on ' ' Pigeon Milk ' ' 
if vou are not familiar with same.) 



PREPARING SQUABS FOR MARKET 

The appearance of any marketable article has consid- 
erable to do with the price received for same, and espe- 
cially so with an article like squabs that can be made to 
look nice, clean and inviting by a little care, or will appear 
dirty and undesirable if handled carelessly and with no 
special pains. 

Squabs should be picked reasonably clean, and care 
should be taken not to tear the flesh. The head should be 
left on with the feathers extending about half way down 
the neck. The feet should be left on, but well washed and 
cleaned, with the feathers picked off from around the knees. 
Dry picked squabs will not only keep better, but have a 
much better appearance than squabs that are scalded before 
picked. The placing of squabs in cold water immediately 
after picking not only gives the squabs a plump like ap- 

130 



pearance, but will make the flesh appear much whiter and 
nicer. 

For special private trade, it is not a bad idea to wrap 
each squab in wax paper, leaving the head and feet un- 
wrapped. A specially selected carton is also an advantage 
when delivering to private trade. 

The evenness in size is another point worth watching. 
Extra large squabs, or extremely small ones should be sep- 
arated from the rest, as the latter will make the entire lot 
look smaller, and the former will not be appreciated. All 
of these things have a tendency in the right direction. 
Good manners, neat appearance, with clean hands and feet, 
has its effect when delivering squabs to fastidious trade, 
and, in fact, with all classes of trade. Points of this na- 
ture are well worth considering, and often mean more foi- 
the success of a business than one can estimate. 



HOW TO KILL AND PICK SQUABS 

Squabs that are to be marketed, should be taken from 
the nest at night, placed in coops where they will not be 
too crowded, then killed the next morning when their crops 
are empty. They should be killed with a sharp knife by 
cutting the. roof of their mouth and throat, through the 
beak. Then lock their wings and hang them up by the 
feet to bleed and pick. Squabs are marketed with the head 
and feet on. As soon as they quit bleeding, take them 
down and pick dry before they get cold. The object in 
locking their wings, by twisting them one over the other, 
is to prevent the dying bird from flopping and throwing 
blood over everything nearby. A good rapid picker takes 
but a few feathers at a time, pulls the feathers against the 
grain, so to speak, and by keeping this up in rapid succes- 
sion is able to pick a squab in a remarkably short time. 

About the most simple vray to hang squabs up to bleed 
is to drive 8-penny nails in pairs,, about 6 inches apart m 
a board. The nails should be driven about one-third the 
way in and about one-quarter of an inch apart, or just 
far enough to permit a squab's legs to go between. Another 
way is to fasten a row of double strings, 8 to 10 inches long, 
to nails driven into a board about 6 inches apart, hung up 
in a convenient place. Then form a simple half hitch loop 
and slip it over the scpiab's feet; before letting loose of the 
squab, lock its wings, as above described. A number of 
squabs in this way can be hung up, killed and bled at the 
same time. Then, as fast as one quits bleeding, take it 
down to be picked, and replace it with another squab. 
Wliere several people are picking at the same time, it is 
best for one to do the killing and pulling out the larger 

131 



feathers in the wings and tail, and the others do the bal- 
ance of the picking. As soon as a squab is picked, its wings 
should be placed over its back, and thro\^^l into a tub of 
cool water to plump. The grain or feed should be washed 
out of a squab 's crop before it is packed or shipped or mar- 
keted, as the grain will sour and spoil the squab. Then, 
besides, they are not in a marketable condition with the 
crops full. To wash the crop, hold the squab's open beak 
under a running faucet and allow the crop to fill with water. 
Then take the squab in the right hand, by the back and 
legs, and by a throwing motion towards the ground throw 
the water out of its crop, and with it will come the grain 
and other contents. If it does not all come out the first 
time, refill with water and repeat the process. 

It pays to arrange a convenient place to kill and pick 
squabs, even though you have but a small plant and may 
only kill a few birds weekly. It will be found best to do 
this work indoors and a cool basement or wash room is an 
excellent place. A comfortable seat should be provided 
and all such arrangements should be made in advance. 

If paraffin is to be used, it is not necessary to pick the 
squabs very clean. Much time can be saved and better 
results obtained. 

Much time can be saved and better results obtained by 
using paraffin when picking squabs, and as the paraffin 
can be used over and over again, the expense is a small 
consideration. Of course, all the larger feathers must be 
pulled out before the squabs are dipped. A little experi- 
ence will teach you just how clean to pick before paraf- 
fining. 

To prepare the paraffin for this purpose, put it into a 
kettle or receptacle, large enough to permit the dipping of 
a squab completely under the liquid. Paraffin should be 
warmed to a degree that will melt it into an oily substance, 
but care should be taken not to get it too hot, or it will 
partly cook and turn the squabs red and spoil them. The 
paraffin should be warm — not hot. A good test is to hold 
your finger in the melted liquid and if it is too hot for 
your comfort let it set and cool a while. It wall cool very 
rapidly. To apply the paraffin hold the squab by the head 
and feet, and emerge the balance of the body under the 
paraffin. Lay it on a table or board to cool a few min- 
utes, and then dip again. Time can be saved by dipping 
several squabs in succession and then by the time the last 
is dipped the first is cold enough to dip the second time. 
After the paraffin is cool it will turn to a sperm-like sub- 
stance, when it can be pulled off the squab, and any 
feathers left on the squab will come with it. Then the 
sfjuab should be thrown into a bucket or tub of water to 
plump. You understand that when squabs are to be paraf- 

132 



fined, they should not be put in water to cool until paraf- 
fined, as paraffin will not stick to wet feathers. After a 
little experience in this method, you will become familiar 
with the necessary temperature to have the paraffin and 
about the time it will take the paraffin to cool before it can 
be peeled off the squab. 

When the paraffin begins to get too thick for use, set 
the kettle back on the stove and heat it up a little, always 
taking care not to get it too hot. A coal oil, alcohol, or 
gas burner will furnish ample heat to melt the paraffin. 
Save the paraffin with the feathers in, after it is pulled off 
the squabs, for later use ; but before it is used a second 
time, heat and strain, so as to get rid of the feathers. At 
least one-third of the time can be saved in picking by the 
use of paraffin, and, as the operation is simple, it is no trick 
to learn how, and easy to perform. 



SHIPPING DRESSED SQUABS 

I recently noticed an unsigned article in a magazine on 
shipping dressed squabs, written by a Missouri squab 
raiser, and he stated the proposition clearly and covered 
certain points well. I will quote the letter, which is as 
follows : 

"We received some letters from parties who are anxious 
to give the squab industry a trial, ])ut who say that they 
live in small towns where there is no demand for scjuabs 
or that the city market at their location is low. 

''These conditions are small factors, and can be easily 
handled. In fact, we know of no industry whei'e the mat- 
ter of securing the proper markets can be so easily handled. 
We mean by this that in most industries the near markets 
have to be depended upon exclusively, as it would cost too 
much to ship farther ; and, also, the markets farther east, 
as a rule, do not offer the western producers enough differ- 
ence in other lines of industries to make it profitable to 
ship in small quantities. This is the case with poultry of 
all kinds. But take the S(iuab industry. A man Avith 200 
pairs of pigeons will have six dozen of squabs weekly to 
sell. These will weigh 60 to 70 pounds. Properly boxed 
they will Aveigh about 80 pounds. The cost on 80-pound 
shipments from' our plant to New York City is $1.80, or this 
would be 30 cents per dozen. We would never expect to 
get less than $4.50 per dozen for squabs with the quality 
our birds have, and at certain times of the year we would 
get $6.50 to $7.00 per dozen. This is selling through com- 
mission houses. The cost of shipping to Chicago from our 
plant is $1.15 on this size shipment. This would figure 
]9 cents per dozen. We would expect, if we shipped 

133 



squabs to Chicago, to receive about $4.00 per dozen in the 
summer and autumn, and about $6.00 to $6.50 per dozen 
during the winter and spring. These figures are conserva- 
tive estimates of the value of good Carneau squabs and 
what these markets will pay. Our plant is located in 
Missouri, 175 miles west of St. Louis. This makes our 
plant about 1,500 miles from New York City, and about 
500 miles from Chicago. You can see then that no matter 
where you live you can reach the best markets at a very 
small cost, and for this reason you need not depend on the 
local markets for the disposal of your squabs. Also, the 
farther the distance the lesser the express in proportion. 
This is what we mean : If you live say 2,200 miles from 
New York, Avhicli would be 700 miles farther than our 
plant, the express on this size package w'ould amount to only 
about 50 cents more than it would from our plant. The cost 
of expressage is figured a great deal less in proportion as 
to the distance it is to be hauled is increased. As the Chi- 
cago, Philadelphia, New York, and all the larger Eastern 
cities are always willing to pay large prices for squabs, you 
can readily see the matter of getting a good market for 
your squabs is one that need not bother you. But most of 
the western cities are becoming good squab markets and 
we look for vast improvements in the next two or three 
years. 

"Now as to the safety of shipping squabs long dis- 
tances, will say that this is easily and safely accomplished. 
During the winter months all that is necessary is to pack 
them in a box and mark the box in tw^o or three places as 
follows: 'Dressed Squabs — Keep in Cool Place.' Squabs 
so marked will keep in fine shape three or four days in the 
winter. In the summer they should be packed in ice. They 
will keep easily 60 hours in the summer where so packed, 
but if shipping in summer you should use the returnable 
containers, which have a chamber for the squabs and one 
for the ice. These will be sent back to you by the express 
company for virtually nothing. In no instance over 10 
cents is charged for returning these containers. In sum- 
mer shipment of scjuabs, w^here ice is necessary, there is a 
deduction of 25 per cent allowed by the express companies 
from the gross weight. For example, if your box, ice and 
squabs weigh TOO pounds, you would be charged for only 
75 pounds. 

"For these various reasons, any one wdio has good Car- 
neaux that are raising him 12 pounds to the dozen or bet- 
ter squabs, should never take less than $4.00 per dozen for 
his squabs. Demand what your birds are worth from your 
local market, and if they will not pay it, ship them where 
Ihey will. 

"Another good phase of new express rates, whieli went 

134 



into effect last April, is that the cost on small shipments 
M-as materially reduced. It used to be that the minimum 
charge was so high that you could ship five or six dozen as 
cheaply as you could one dozen, but this is not the case 
any longer. The man living the distance our plant is from 
New York (1,500 miles) can ship a box containing two 
dozen dressed squabs, which weigh aliout 27 pounds, box 
and all, for 74 cents. This is about 32 cents per dozen. So 
you see the small shipper is at no disadvantage any longer. 
"Wake up, squab raisers. Get what your squabs are 
worth. The big markets want them and the express com- 
panies operate everywhere. The other squab men are doing 
things, so get in line." 



SHIPPING SQUABS TO MARKET 

Squabs are shipped alive on foot, dead, with feathers 
on, and- picked, but if they are shipped any distance, they 
must be packed in ice or shipped in a refrigerating car 
or boat. Express companies allow one-third off in weight 
for ice. There are special air-tight receptacles, but the 
average shipper uses merely a large candy bucket, or box, 
packing therein a layer of squabs and then a layer of ice. 
If the distance is very great, however, it is better not to 
have the ice come in direct contact with the squabs. Very 
few buyers will accept birds with their feathers on. How- 
ever, some prefer to receive them that way, and will pay 
about as much per dozen for them. If a customer of this 
kind can be secured, it is much easier to ship with the 
feathers on than to pick them. 

When squabs are shipped alive, they must not travel 
very far. They should be gathered from the nest after 
feeding in the afternoon and be received before noon the 
next day. In this way, they have their crops filled, and 
do not lose any weight in transit. A cool, dark crate or 
box should be provided to ship in, and not over a dozen 
birds put in a compartment, otherwise they will crowd on 
top of each other and smother. Squabs that are received 
alive, should be killed immediately, as they will lose weight 
if not. You, no doubt, understand that squabs do not know 
how to drink or feed themselves ; hence, they cannot be 
held over without considerable loss, and after a couple of 
days, they would deteriorate in quality as well as weight. 



135 



SHIPPING SQUABS A LONG DISTANCE 

By George Klarmann 

Just a few lines regarding our Pacific Utility Pigeon 
Association. California breeders readily could secure prices 
that would be worth while if they would only join an as- 
sociation. They should get together and then stick. In this 
state we have all kinds of associations, orange, chicken, egg, 
berry, rhubarb, apple, raisin, etc. All are successful and 
are the means of living prices, and profits go to the pro- 
ducer, not to the commission man. They stick together and 
sell through their associations only, and by doing so they 
are successful. But the squab breeder seems unable to get 
the habit and then keep it. 

Our association started two years ago. We were then 
Very green at this business. Handling squabs on a large 
scale was something new. We had to learn. This learning 
cost money, but we kept on. About six months ago we de- 
cided to incorporate, and things seemed to be started on 
the right road. We were handling a large number of 
squabs, both supplied by our members and shipped to us 
from various points in our state, paying top prices, and 
were also the direct cause for the highest prices ever paid 
in the San Francisco market. 

After experimenting with several styles of shipping 
cans, trying to ship dressed squabs from California to Chi- 
cago and New York, we have at last solved the mystery 
with our latest shipping can with trays and ice chamber. 
Total weight, 64 pounds, and will last a life-time. This 
can will hold from 15 dozen to 20 dozen dressed squabs, 
weighing 9 pounds average to the dozen. These cans also 
may be made larger or smaller. 

There is no reason why squab breeders should not have 
an association. This is possible if they will put on their 
thinking cap, reason a little, sacrifice, if necessary, as other 
producers have done. Other producers have succeeded 
why not the squab breeders? Information will be gladly 
forwarded. 



136 



EDUCATING THE CUSTOMER TO GOOD 
SQUABS AND PRICES 

Eating squabs in America is a comparatively new thing, 
and the sale and consumption of large squabs particularly 
fitted |or the table is newer still. There are many people 
throughout the country that do not even know what squabs 
mean, and many more who do not know that there is a dif- 
ference in the size and flavor of squabs. Their impression 
is, that a squab is a young pigeon such as are raised by 
boys, or fly loose in the barnyards of the farmers. The 
price of $4.00 and $6.00 a dozen for squabs, therefore, does 
not appeal to them very forcibly, but if such people were 
actually acquainted with the real commercial squab of 
today, they would be eating it and singing its praise. 
There is great room for development, therefore, along the 
line of education in all towns and cities of the country. 

There are many families in every community who would 
buy squabs at good prices at regular periods, if they but 
knew the delicious food value of high-grade squabs. One 
thing that has been a setback to squab eating, is the prac- 
tice of cheap restaurants and hotels in serving poor, in- 
ferior squabs, or even old pigeons as squabs, and this, I am 
sorry to say, is often not confined to the cheaper restau- 
rants and hotels, but is sometimes practiced by high-grade 
places. The public is not sufficiently educated to know 
what they should get when they order a squab. They see 
it on the menu, order it once, do not find it to their liking, 
and forever after are firm in their l)elief that squabs are 
not very good to eat. But if these same people could be 
induced to try a real squab of good size, killed at the right 
age, they would be surprised at their past ignorance in this 
line. 

About the best way for a small producer of squabs in 
an outlying district to establish a good squab trade, is to 
make a special effort to get some of the best families in 
the community to try a few of his squabs, even if it is 
necessary to give them the first supply. The fact that the 
Orthodox Jews do not eat pork, make them splendid squab 
customers. They are particularly fond of ducks, geese, and 
other fowls that carry considerable fat and take readily to 
squabs. Then, as a rule, the Jewish people in small towns 
and villages are fairly well to do, and can afford to pay 
good prices for what they desire to eat. In working up a 
private trade for the sale of squabs, therefore, it is well 

137 



to go especially after the Jewish trade. Another good 
means of creating a squab trade, is to dress them real nice, 
and leave them at the local market to sell. If the market 
will not buy them outright, leave them there on consign- 
ment, with instructions that they be sold to the best and 
most particular customers, even though the price is to be 
small, after which the price can be readily raised to what 
it ought to be. Another good method is to inquire ahead 
of any prospective dinners or banquets to be served pub- 
licly or privately, and arrange for squabs as a part of the 
menu, even though the arrangement is to be made at a 
sacrifice in price. The principal thing is to get the people 
to eating s(iuabs at some price, and then it is only a mat- 
ter of a short time until they will be paying fair prices. 
It is folly for a person to believe that they can start in a 
squab business and find a ready market for their product, 
without some pioneer and educational work. This is where 
many beginners meet their first discouragement. With the 
start they do not raise enough squabs to justify them to 
ship to an established market in the city, so they try to 
peddle them around to local markets, hotels and restau- 
rants, and, to their disappointment, are either offered a 
very small price, or no price at all. Then there is another 
phase to the question and that is, where there is already 
an established demand at a good price, buyers will take ad- 
vantage of beginners by offering him a very small price for 
his product, and often will state very positively that it is 
all squabs are worth. It is a bad practice, therefore, to 
wait until you have squalis to sell before looking out for 
a market, and it is better to distribute them around to pri- 
vate families and. therefore, create a demand, than it is to 
try and peddle them out to small hotels or markets. 

Many physicians would recommend squabs for their 
patients, if they knew where they could be secured ; thereby 
another line of trade can be supplied. It is often neces- 
sary, however, to educate the physician to the real merits 
and value of squab meat, the same as other inexperienced 
people. The average doctor in the country believes that a 
s(iuab is a sm'all, dark meated fowl that weighs about one- 
half pound. To convince him otherwise, it is only neces- 
sary to serve him with a real squab. 

Good, well fattened squabs will readily bring from pri- 
vate trade from 30 to 60 cents a piece, according to weight, 
and the education of the customer and his ability to pay. 
Ten pounds to the dozen Carneau squabs after dressed 
would bring from 40 to 50 cents a piece at private trade. 
The same squabs served at the best hotels and cafes in the 
cities bring from 75c to $1.25 each at retail. 



138 



HOW TO SHIP LIVE BIRDS 

A box or crate should be used when shipping live birds, 
according to the number of birds to be shipped and the 
distance they are going to travel. Any kind of a box wall 
do for a few pair that are only going a short distance, but 
if they are going to travel any distance, a feed 1)0X should 
be prepared, with a feed hopper, for the purpose and sliould 
have a can attached for drinking water. Such shipping 
crates can be secured ready built. The expressmen wall 
water and feed birds if arrangements are provided for that 
purpose, otherwise they are likely not to, although they are 
supposed to do so. 

Birds will not eat nearly so much en route as they 
would otherwise, so a little feed will last for a long trip. 
I favor the plan of having drinking cups arranged so the 
expressmen can take the cup out, fill it, and set it l)ack in 
place. Usually they have no way of putting water in ex- 
cept with a large bucket and invariably this causes them 
to pour the water all over the birds and usually the feed, 
which sours and makes the birds sick, unless a convenient 
way is provided. 

When a large number of birds are to l)e shipped, a self- 
feeder, opened on both sides, can be built through the cen- 
ter of the shipping box, with a space four inches or six 
inches square left at each end of the feed hopper, into 
which can be placed the drinking cup. 

Care should be taken not to have any cracks near the 
bottom of the shipping coop for birds to get their feet or 
wings out of, and the coop should be high enough so the 
birds cannot stick their heads out of the top, for they are 
apt to get their heads knocked off by the expressmen pull- 
ing another crate oi' box across the top of the coop they 
are in. It is also not a good plan to have openings around 
the sides to cause drafts. Not over 15 or 20 birds should 
be shipped in a compartment, as they are apt to pile up 
at one end of the coop on top of each other and trample or 
smother the under liirds. 



139 



WHAT TO DO WITH ODD COCKS 

A good method is to have a separate pen for odd cocks 
and nothing but good, high grade cocks should be kept in 
that pen. The small and runty ones should be disposed of 
or turned into soup. Then as fast as your young females 
get old enough to mate, they should be turned into the pen 
of odd cocks. As soon as mated each pair should be taken 
out and put in with other breeders. This method will cause 
the female to mate up a little earlier than they would with 
young cocks and will enable you to grade your flock up by 
selecting your best odd males for your young females. 

You can also draw from your pen of odd cocks to replace 
small and inferior males that you notice from time to time 
in your plant. It is better to dispose of an inferior odd male 
even if you have to give it away, than to keep it, for it only 
consumer feed and will never be of any value for breeding 
purposes. 

You will always have more cocks than hens for breeding 
purposes, so why keep odd cocks at a dead loss and expense. 
Keep only the extra good ones and turn the others loose, 
give them away to people that might be able to use them, 
or make soup out of them, but don't keep them. 



FEEDING WEAK OR SICK PIGEONS 

As a rule when a pigeon gets so sick or weak that it will 
not eat the regular feed provided for well birds there is not 
much use trying to do anything for it unless one has plenty 
of time or has a special bird he wants to save. Young birds 
just after the parent bird has stopped feeding them are the 
most likely to need special feed, or females that have been 
driven too hard by the male bird. If either is cared for in 
time all that is necessary is to put them in a pen by them- 
selves or with other such birds and see that they get plenty 
of good rich feed including a little hemp, plenty of peas 
and such grain as millet, buckwheat, lentils, vetch, etc. Any 
of these grains will be eaten by sick birds when they will 
not eat the more common grains. 

These grains are generally more expensive than regular 
feed so they must be fed sparingly. 

If a bird is so sick or weak that it will not eat, then 
feed must be forced down its throat. (See article on feed- 
ing squabs by hand.) A bird that is so far gone that it 
will not eat of its own accord, especially when it is given 
special grain, is as a rule past doing anything with. In 
such cases a mixture of two parts wheat bran and three 
parts corn meal with about a spoonful of ground red 
pepper to a cup of bran and meal is about the best thing to 

140 



give them. This mixture should be made wet enough with 
water to make it easy to force down the bird's throat or it 
can be given in capsules. This is an especially good way 
to give most any kind of medicine or feed to sick birds. 
Cotton seed meal or peanut meal is a good thing to mix 
with bran and corn meal. About one part to five parts of 
bran and corn meal. 

Small cubes of toasted bread is also excellent feed for 
sick birds. 



FEEDING SQUABS BY HAND 

Motherless squabs can often be successfully raised by 
hand if one has patience and will take the time to do so. 
If you have never fed a squab by hand, you will find the 
work very tedious at the start, but a little practice will 
enable you to show a marked improvement. Hand feeding 
is no more nor less than forcing the bird to eat by poking 
the feed do■\\^l the bird's throat. To do this you should 
open the beak with the left hand and poke the grain in with 
the right hand. The best way is to set the bird on some- 
thing, then take its head and neck in the left hand, resting 
the edge of your hand on the bird's back to hold it from 
pulling away. Then hold the lower half of the beak be- 
tween your thumb and second finger. Lift up the upper 
half of the beak with your front finger and put a grain 
of corn, a pea or other feed in the bird's mouth and re- 
lease its head to allow it to swallow. If it does not swallow 
and persists in throwing the feed out, then you will find it 
necessary to poke the grain part way down with the front 
finger of your right hand. Repeat this operation until the 
crop is fairly well filled. 

If you will give the squab a drink before you start to 
feeding it the grain will go dowai ea.sier. Some real young 
squabs will drink if you stick their heads in a cup of water. 
If they will not drink of their own accord, you should pour 
some water down their throats. You can best do this with 
a spoon, or better still with a medicine dropper, holding 
the bird the same as you would to feed it and opening the 
beak in the same way. Do not be afraid of giving the bird 
too much water. 

A small squab can consume two or three tablespoonsful 
of water. If the grain chokes up the bird's throat you can 
work it down with your fingers from the outside. 

In addition to feed and water, a bird should be given a 
very small amount of grit, oyster shell and charcoal. Hand 
fed squabs will do as well as if fed by their parents, but 
they can be raised by hand and develop into good birds. 

Hand feeding can be done in connection with the feed- 

141 



ing of the old birds, which is often a good thing if one has 
a good special squab that he desires to raise that is not get- 
ting enough feed. In such a case a few peas given to the 
squab nightly is a good thing. If it is fed by hand during 
the day it will not beg or tease its parents for feed as much 
as it would if hungry and so M^ould get less feed from its 
parents. 

If you have three or four squabs in one nest it is not a 
bad plan to feel of their crops at night and either change 
any that have empty crops to other nests or hand feed 
them a little. 

A hand fed squab will do better if you can slip him in 
a nest every day or so when he will be fed by an old bird, 
or if you can exchange the squabs that you are hand feed- 
ing for other squabs daily, it is better, for then the same 
sciuabs will not be hand fed constantly. 

A breeder with a large plant will always have young 
squabs in other nests about the same size and thus be able 
to have any orphan squabs fed by foster parents, so that 
hand feeding will not, as a rule, be necessary. 



HOW TO DREAM THE MAXIMUM SQUAB 

YIELD 

By E. H. Eggleston 

(From National Squah Journal) 

Wonderful as pigeons are and the profit that can be 
made from the pigeon business, there is a limit to what 
a certain number of pigeons can do. Like most other busi- 
ness, there are two ways to figure pigeon raising : a mathe- 
matical calculation, based on theory and a calculation 
based on experience and actual tests. I have demon- 
strated over and over that a pen of good producers will 
more than double itself in number every three months. 
Fifty pairs, for instance, will increase to 100 pairs in three 
months, to 200 pairs in six months, 400 pairs in nine 
months, and to 800 pairs in twelve months, which ought 
to be good enough for any one ; but, no doubt, there are 
many who figure like one of my customers, who calculates 
that he will have 118 pigeons raised from one pair in a 
year's time. I quote a recent letter from him: 

"Dear Mr. Eggleston: The pair of Carneau pigeons 
you sent me five months ago are certainly some birds. They 
have raised five pairs of squabs and the oldest squabs have 
mated and now have two eggs almost ready to hatch. I 
figure this way, that by the end of the year I ought to have 
118 pigeons. By the following table, which, no doubt, will 
be of interest to you, I have shown how I am going to have 

142 



6,962 birds at the expiration of two years. At that time 
I am planning on no other business except my pigeons." 
(See table below.) 

How One Patk op Pigeons Can Breed to a Fi.ock of US 
IN One Year 

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total 

A 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 24 

In May pair B starts 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 16 

In June pair C goes to work 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 14 

In July pair D goes to work 2 2 2 2 2 2 12 

In August pair E starts producing 2 2 2 2 2 10 

In September pair F starts producing 2 2 2 2 8 

In October pair Gis five months old and will produce 2 2 2 6 

In November pair H is five months old and will produce 2 2 4 

In December pair I is five months old and will produce. ... 2 2 

October B's first pair is five months old and starts. .222 6 
November B 's second pair is five months old and goes 

to work 2 2 4 

December B 's third pair is five months old and will produce 2 2 
November C 's first pair is five months old and goes to 

work 2 2 4 

December C 's second pair is five months old and goes to work 2 2 
December D 's first pair is five months old and starts pro- 
ducing 2 2 

Original Pair 2 

Grand Total 118 

"Now, Mr. Eggleston, do you think that my tigures are 
correct, and that I may depend on producing about that 
number? If not, how many pairs more would you advise 
me to buy?" 



RAISING AND SELLING SQUAB BREEDING 

STOCK 

This is a business of its own, separate and distinct from 
raising and selling squabs. It, however, can be run in con- 
nection with the squab selling business. The rapid increase 
of the squab industry, and the fact that thousands of peo- 
ple are entering the squab business annually, has created 
a demand for scjuab breeding stock, which in turn has 
caused many people to enter this branch of the business 
unprepared and without special knowledge of what is neces- 
sary to success in this kindred industry. The results have 
been that many have effected their success along the line of 
squab breeding by accumulating a lot of birds which they 
saved to sell for breeders at a heavy expense, and eventually 
a loss on account of having to sell at a reduced price. Like 
anything else, there is a lot to learn about this branch of 

143 



the business that one would not foresee or appreciate until 
too late. 

To start with, there is not the margin of profit in selling 
squab breeders as it might appear on first thought. There 
are many things to be reckoned with besides the expense 
of feeding birds from the time they are old enough to kill 
for squabs until matured and sold for breeders. There is 
a certain per cent of squabs that could not be sold for 
breeding stock on account of size, weight or color, which 
defect cannot always be determined at squab killing time ; 
then a percentage of young birds die after they leave the 
nest, and before they learn to care for themselves. 

It is next to impossible to distinguish between a male 
and female squab, and a person accumulating squabs for 
breeding purposes will invariably save more males than 
females, which is a total loss, as there is no demand for ex- 
tra males. The additional space or room for housing birds 
until they mate and can be sold is quite an item to consider, 
together with their care and time and labor it takes to 
segregate them into classes, and mating them up properly, 
but all these things can be mastered and coped with suc- 
cessfully by most any squab breeder. Even in the face of 
an increasing demand, it is hard to find ready buyers for 
breeding stock, and especially so for those who are not 
known and have to depend upon a limited means of adver- 
tising. It takes a number of years to build up an estab- 
lished business of this kind to such an extent that breeders 
can be sold at the proper age, at a fair price. The average 
purchaser of breeding stock would prefer to buy his birds 
from a well established breeder at an advanced price, than 
from some one who is inexperienced, or not known, with no 
reputation to back him up. And this is quite right, for the 
reason that it pays to get good stock, at even a high price, 
rather than inferior birds for nothing. 

Many breeders of squabs make a mistake by trying to 
raise and sell breeding stock. I do not mean by this that 
a few breeders can not be sold profitably by most any one 
in the squal) business, but it is a mistake to figure on selling 
breeding stock to any extent, unless you have the experi- 
ence and are equipped to handle same. 

The difference in profit to be made on a hundred birds 
sold for breeding purposes at a year old for a fair price, 
and what could have been realized out of the same num- 
ber of birds had they been sold at four weeks old for squabs, 
is not very large, after reckoning the expense of feed, care, 
housing, advertising and all expense; but it is sufficiently 
large to make the business profitable, to one who is estab- 
lished in that line. And has, by years of advertising in 
magazines, by exhibiting birds, and through satisfied cus- 
tomers, built up a permanent business. But this is a slow 

144 



undertaking, and one should give careful and due consid- 
eration before entering the business of selling squab breed- 
ing stock. 

Then if you should decide to enter this branch of the 
business, I would suggest that you proceed as follows: 
First, start in in a small way, have a few letter heads 
printed with your name and address, and the kind of birds 
that you are going to offer for sale, and right here I would 
advise that you confine your business to one kind of birds 
only. If you have several kinds you certainly have one 
kind that is better than the others, or one that you are 
better equipped to raise. You can gain nothing by scat- 
tering your efforts, and, on the other hand, if you concen- 
trate on a single breed, your sale talks will be more ef- 
fective and consistent, you will have to have fewer houses, 
a smaller number of assorting and breeding pens, and a 
smaller investment in breeding stock. 

Next you should run a small ad. in a good Squab 
Journal. Poultry and other papers are all right for large 
breeders to advertise in, but wull not pay the small breeder, 
as such ads. are more along the line of educational, and re- 
quires considerable time to mature them. 

If there are any pigeon shows to be held nearby, I would 
recommend that you enter some of your birds in the classes 
that you are most likely to win in, and be present at the 
shows if possible, where you will meet people interested in 
the business, and thereby gain a certain amount of pub- 
licity. After the show you can use your winnings for ad- 
vertising purposes, but I would caution you against plac- 
ing too much importance to little shows, and expecting 
great or immediate results. 

In selecting and raising the birds you expect to sell for 
breeding stock, it would be wtII to raise only a few more 
pairs than you expect to need for your own plant the first 
year, then increase your stock as you are able to dispose of 
same, which you will be able to do as you get better estab- 
lished and learn more about the sale of l)reeding stock. 

Most every squab breeder has a few pairs of mated birds 
that he can spare without decreasing his breeding stock 
materially. It is a good plan, therefore, to carry a small 
ad. in the pigeon papers for the purpose of disposing of 
surplus breeders. But if you met with partial success along 
this line, it does not follow that you could go into the breed- 
ing business and immediately start to make money, for, as 
previously stated, the sale of breeding stock is a distinct 
line, and one that cannot be jumped into on short notice 
with any degree of success. 



10 145 



COOKING AND SERVING SQUABS 

If squabs are for home use it is just as well to cut their 
heads off as to bleed them to death, and the former is the 
easiest and quickest. 

After the bird is picked, singe the hair or fuzzy feathers 
off over a blaze, then wash in cold water ; cut off the feet 
at the knees ; cut off the end of the neck if it is bloodshot 
or extra long. To remove the entrails split the squab open 
at the back. Be sure and get the crop and its contents all 
removed; wash again thoroughly and let it stand in salt 
water over night if you have time. If not they can be 
cooked at once. 

Squabs can be stuffed and cooked or roasted as you, 
would a chicken or a turkey ; broiled as you would a spring 
chicken or a quail. Stewed or fricasseed squabs are also 
good, but fried squab is the most common and besides 
being the most simple and easiest to prepare, fried squab 
will suit the taste of a majority of people. 

How TO Fry Squabs 

The old fashioned southern way of frying a chicken is 
probably the best way. This method requires a lot of 
grease and, therefore, is not often used unless there are a 
number of squabs to fry. Although by this method a lot 
of grease is needed to fry the birds in, they are not at all 
greasy when cooked if the grease is kept hot. Take a kettle 
of lard and let it get extra hot, then cut your squabs in 
halves as you would a spring chicken and drop them into 
the hot grease. There must be enough grease to cover the 
squabs completely just as you would fry doughnuts. You 
can put in several halves at a time and let them remain 
until thoroughly done, which will only require a few min- 
utes if the grease is kept hot enough. Serve on a platter 
or individual plates w^hile hot. 

Another way to fry squabs is to first parboil them, then 
pour off the water; add a little lard or butter and fry 
quickly over a hot fire. While squabs are not good unless 
thoroughly cooked care should be taken not to overboil, as 
they are very tender and will fall to pieces if over-cooked. 

Squabs can be fried without parboiling, but it takes a 
little longer to get them done all the way through. If you 
desire, you can roll them in flour, corn meal or butter be- 

146 



fore frying. The majority of people lil^e them the best 
without. 

Still another way to fry squabs is split the birds open 
in the back, flatten them out well and lay face or open 
part down in a skillet with enough lard or other grease to 
keep from burning. Place a cover over the birds that is 
a little smaller than the skillet, weight the cover down with 
a flat iron or other weight and let cook slowly until well 
done ; then take cover otf and increase the heat for the pur- 
pose of browning the s(iuabs, turning them over for each 
side to brown. 

SQUAB, Scalloped. Butter a baking-dish. Arrange 
alternate layers of cold, cooked, sliced scjuab and boiled 
macaroni or rice. Pour over Tomato Souce, cover with but- 
tered cracker crumbs, and bake in a hot oven until crum])s 
are brown. 

SQUAB SOUFFLE. Take the breast meat of several 
squabs ; remove all skin and sinews chop very fine. Put 
the chopped meat in a skillet or stew-pan, add some white 
sauce, a little chopped parsley ; salt and pepper to taste ; 
stir it until it boils ; allow it to cool a little ; add yolks of 
three eggs beaten to a froth and stir well. Turn into a 
baking-dish which has been well buttered and the ])ottom 
covered with fine cracker crumbs. Bake in a very ([uick 
oven. Serve with sauce. 

SQUAB PIE. Clean well, inside and out, one-half 
dozen small squabs and split them in half; put them in a 
saucepan with about two quarts of water; when it boils, 
skim off all scum that arises; then add salt and pepper, a 
bunch of minced parsley one onion chopped fine, and three 
whole cloves. Cut up half a pound of salt pork into dice, 
and let all boil until tender, using care that there be 
enough water to cover the birds. Thicken this with two 
tablespoons of browned flour and let it boil up. Stir in a 
piece of butter as large as an egg; remove from the fire 
and let it cool. Have ready a pint of potatoes cut as small 
as dice, and a rich crust made. Line the sides of a but- 
tered baking-dish "wdtli the crust ; lay in the birds, then 
some of the potatoes, then birds and so on, until the dish 
is full. Pour over the gravy, put on the top crust, with a 
slit cut in the center, and bake. The top can be orna- 
mented with pastry leaves in a wreath about the edge, with 
anv fancy design placed in the center across the slit. 

' OLD PIGEON PIE. Take half a dozen pigeons; stuff 
each one with a dressing, the same as for turkey ; loosen 
the joints with a knife but do not separate them. Put 
them in a stewpan with water enough to cover them ; let 
them cook until nearly tender, then season them with salt 
and pepper and butter. Thicken the gravy with flour ; re- 
move and cool. Butter a baking-dish line the sides with 

147 



a rich crust. Have ready some hard-boiled eggs, cut in 
slices. Put in a layer of egg and birds and gravy until the 
dish is full. Cover with a crust and bake. 

There are many other ways squabs can be cooked, such 
a.s squab crocjuettes, cold s<iual) loaf, scjuab a la King, etc., 
but there is no way as simple and convenient as frying 
them and, if properly fried they are hard to beat. 



PIGEONS FOR EXHIBITION PURPOSES 

Raising squab breeders, sucii as Homers, Carneaux, 
Mondaines, etc., for exhibition or show purposes, cannot 
be very successfully followed as a money-making part of 
the business, even by those who breed and sell stock birds. 
It is true that winning blue ribbons is a valuable means 
of advertising along certain lines, but until the squab in- 
dustry is followed by a larger percentage of the people, as 
is now true with chickens, the expense of that form of ad- 
vertising is apt to more than offset the benefits received 
therefrom. There is a certain amount of pride and satis- 
faction for any breeder of live stock or fowls to know that 
his stock is superior to others and he should know of it 
if inferior, which knowledge he will soon gain if he exhibits 
inferior stock. The spirit of rivalry which enters into all 
competition either for pleasure or profit, which causes men 
to compete for blue ribbons, make stock shows possible, and 
in turn are beneficial. As long as there are standards cov- 
ering squab producing breeds, and as long as it is difficult 
to produce birds that come up to the standard, the satis- 
faction of attaining success along this line, and the gen- 
eral knowledge to be gained is sufficient reward to justify 
the trouble and expense of exhibiting at pigeon shows, and, 
after all, what difference is there really in competing with 
Carneaux or Tumblers, Jacobins, Pouters and other fancy 
breeds? It is well, therefore, that those who desire can 
raise breeders for squab producing purposes and at the 
same time birds of the same kind for exhibition purposes 
and succeed at both. 

The method of producing utility chickens for show pur- 
poses has proven a great benefit to the chicken industry, 
and to that extent, it can be practiced successfully with 
squab and utility pigeons. A Carneau seems to be the 
most popular squab-producing bird for show purposes. 
National and International Carneau Clubs have been or- 
ganized and standards adopted. 

There are also standards for Runts, Maltese, White 
Kings and Mondaines, but while the Runt is sometimes con- 
sidered a squab producer, it is really not on account of the 
small number of squabs that a pair produces in a year, 

148 



and the fact that their squabs are generally more bones 
than meat, so are not good sellers for squab purposes. 

As a whole, I would say that pigeon shows and exhibi- 
tions are a good thing for squab breeders and I would en- 
courage more of it and advise that pigeon shows give space 
and inducements to exhibitions of squab producing varie- 
ties. The success of the ''Fancy" depends largely on the 
financial support of the shows, and it would appear that 
pigeon show managers have made a mistake in the past 
of overlooking the squab-breeders. 



HOW, WHEN, WHERE TO EXHIBIT 

There are annual pigeon shows held in most of the large 
cities of the United States. These shows are generally held 
under the auspices of a pigeon club or association, which 
are generally to be found in each city of importance. 
Poultry shows generally have a pigeon 'department, and 
state and county fairs generally give prizes for pigeons as 
well as poultry. 

I am strongly of the opinion that too much importance 
has been placed upon the value of solid red or solid yellow 
Carneaux by the fancy Carneau breeder, who, on account 
of his association with pigeon shows, has gotten up the 
Carneau classifications and premium lists, and too little im- 
portance has been given to the red and white Carneau, or 
yellow and white Carneau, which are the prevailing and 
original colors of the bird. This has had a tendency to 
keep some Carneau breeders out of the shows, for the' rea- 
son that they had no chance to win with the class of birds 
they handle, and thereby an important feature has been 
overlooked, namely, the utility Carneau breeders. Should 
you desire to enter utility Carneaux in pairs, notify your 
club and they will likely provide such a class. 

Another thing, by placing all red and all vellow Car- 
neaux as the most important, the general public has been 
educated to believe that such birds were the pure bred 
stock, and that Carneaux with white feathers were either 
not full blooded or cults. 

Some shows provide for White Carneaux, which come 
under the same standard as the red or yellow, except white 
in color; and while orange, yellow shaded and red eye is 
preferable, dark eyes are acceptable and are cut two points. 
There are Black Carneaux, but up to the present time they 
are not very well developed. 

The majority of pigeon shows charge a small fee (gen- 
erally 50 cents) for each bird entered, and award small 
cash prizes Avith ribbons and cups to prize winners. A 
premium book is generally published and circulated in ad- 

149 



vance of each show, which gives the different class, prizes, 
etc. Birds for exhibition can be sent to the superintendent 
of the show and should reach destination one day in ad- 
vance of the opening of the show. 

Shipping crates to shows should be plainly marked with 
the owner's name and address, so the birds can be properly 
exhibited and returned as soon as the show is over. Those 
who desire to enter birds can secure necessary information 
with reference to the rates for shipping and returning of 
show birds from any express agent. They come under a 
special class and are returned at a reduced rate. 

Before birds are shipped, however, to a show, entry 
blank should be received from the secretary, tilled out, and 
entry fee remitted to the secretary when blanks are re- 
turned to him. This is generally required several days in 
advance of the show. All rules and other information can 
be secured from the secretary of the club giving the show 
or from the show secretary. 

See Carneau standard for classes in Carneaux. Each 
breed has a similar standard class arrangement. 



SOME SQUAB HOUSES I HAVE SEEN 

By E. H. Eggleston. 
(From Anirrican Squnh Journal.) 

There has been more development in scientific farming 
and stock raising along practical lines the last fifty years 
than during the preceding five hundred years. This has 
been chiefly due to the education of the producing classes 
brought around hy the improvements in travel and the 
transportation of thought. It is no longer necessary for 
one to acquire all of his knowledge through personal ex- 
perience as it was in time gone by when each man's world 
was bound by the horizon. It costs money and requires 
time to experiment. Therefore, if a hundred men can 
profit by the experience of one or ten thousand men by the 
experience of a hundred and each more or less by the ex- 
perience of the whole, much money, time and labor can not 
only be saved, but improvements will come that much faster 
for thoughts and ideas grow as they travel. 

The squab industry is comparatively new and there are 
many squab raisers whose experience is limited by the 
knowledge they have chiefly acquired through their own 
personal efforts. As I have made a study of sf|uab raising 
for years and have personally visited most of the squab 
plants, both large and small, through the United States 
and Canada and have made it an object to compare the 

150 



methods of the different breeders, I feel that the infor- 
mation so gathered should prove valuable to others. By com- 
paring the success of one breeder with another along with 
their methods I have been able to determine, at least to my 
own satisfaction, the cause of success or failure. I have 
found that most every breeder possesses ideas of his own 
which are as a rule detrimental to his success and others 
that have considerable virtue. Then, too, in almost every 
plant I have been al)le to obtain an idea that 1 could put to 
some value. If not direct, I could couple it with an idea 
that I got somewhere else and by improving on the two 
combined work out something of great value. In other 
eases I find large successful s(iuab breeders were following 
a few old ideas that were costing them a lot of time and 
money. I propose, therefore, to give the reader the benefit 
of my experience that I secured and thereby assist him in 
making an inexpensive short cut to success. Most of the 
large plants in the East and in New England, particularly, 
build their squab houses with an aisle to the rear of their 
nest rooms and with a solid wall or partition between the 
aisle and the nest rooms. In each plant I visited of this de- 
sign I noticed the birds were unusually wild. They would 
start flying off the nests and out of the squab house into the 
fly pens the minute we entered the building and would 
stay out for some time after we came out. In these plants 
I always noticed a lot of cold, deserted nests and eggs. In 
one plant where the doors in the partitions between the 
aisle and nest rooms were of wire so the birds could see us 
as we passed along the aisle they were not so wild, and it 
was here that I got my first idea of a wire partition be- 
tween the aisle and nest rooms. Previous to that I had 
built my front aisle with a partition of solid wood betw^een 
the aisle and nest rooms. Since then I have wondered why 
I went to the expense of building a solid wood partition 
when a wire partition was better in every way and much 
cheaper. The objection to having the aisle in the rear of 
the nest rooms is not only that it makes the birds wild, but 
it is awkward and unhandy. 

Most of the New England plants have gates to their fly 
pens at the opposite end from the house so when they want 
to get into the fly pen it is necessary to go clear around in 
front, thus losing a great deal of time. I quote below from 
a letter I received from the owner of a plant I visited near 
Boston Avhich covers the difference between the front and 
rear aisle system complete in a few words. "Dear Mr. 
Eggleston : I feel very grateful for the suggestion you 
gave me this spring. Shortly after you were here I changed 
the plan of one of my houses and built the aisle in front 
and of wire instead of boards. This is going to cost me a 
lot of money because I like it so well that I am going to 

151 



change all of my other houses. But I am sure I will gain 
back the expense of the change before the year is over. The 
convenience of your aisle plan of feeding alone is enough 
to cause me to change the aisle to the front. After trying 
your nest system for three months I wonder why some one 
else did not think of it before. ' ' 

In New York, New Jersey and along the eastern coast 
I found quite a few breeders had, in order to eliminate the 
evils of the aisle-in-rear plan, done away with the aisle 
entirely and put in doors from one nest room to another 
near the front of the house so they would enter each nest 
room near where the birds went out into the fly pen. In 
this way the birds would have to fly by them to get out. 
This method I found served the purpose fairly well of 
keeping the birds from flying out of the house every time 
one entered it. 

The objections to this, however, are that the swinging 
doors bother the birds and the birds will sometimes fly by 
through the doors as you go in and thus get mixed with 
other birds in nest rooms. Then, some birds seem to per- 
sist in building their nests on the floor where you will have 
to step over them every time you enter the nest room. 
With this plan I noticed quite a number of nests on the 
floor near the doors, generally in the corner of the room 
next to the fly pen. Another objection to this plan the 
door-in-the-partition plan is that it takes a lot of time to 
go through several nest rooms and open and close a lot of 
doors. 

Squab breeders in many of the southern states and in 
California have adopted an open front squab house with 
the nest boxes along the rear wall and I have seen quite a 
few plants in the north built along the same plan except 
with a closed front. This plan generally includes the gate 
in the front of each fly pen. There are two principal ob- 
jections to this plan. With the nests on the rear wall only, 
one loses one-half of his nest space, as tM^ce as many nests 
can be put on two side walls as on one back wall. Then the 
birds are compelled to face a strong light as they sit on 
their nests, which they do not like to do and squabs do not 
do as well in a nest where the light shines directly on them 
as they do in a nest on the side wall where the nests are 
darker. By having the nests on the back wall and the door 
in front when you enter the nest room every bird on the 
nest sees you and if you start towards them they all think 
you are going to bother them. It is hard to catch a bird 
with such a plan for banding or other purposes as they are 
much more apt to fly off the nests than when the nests are on 
the side wall. With the side nests you do not go directly 
towards the birds as you pass into the room and then they 
are partially hidden and if they see you they think that you 

152 



do not see them. When entering fly pens with the gate at 
the outer end I found that the birds will all chase out of 
the pen back into the nest room then as you go into the 
nest room they will all fly back past you out into the fly pen 
causing more or less of a panic and keeping the birds dis- 
turbed every time the nest room is entered. 

The open front squab house is the proper thing for the 
South and the Pacific Coast States, but the house should be 
built with the aisle in front just the same. Instead of having 
only the partition between the nest rooms and the aisle 
made of wire both this partition and the outer front wall 
should be made of wire. I laid out and superintended the 
building of a 32 unit squab house in Los Angeles built on 
this plan in 1914, and while I at first had some doubt as to 
the birds taking to the overhead shute readily I was quite 
sure they would find them, and they did immediately. 
When both front walls are wire the light comes in below 
the shute and the birds can naturally see right through the 
wire into the fl.y pen. The exit shute being high up and 
not easy to see so I questioned the birds finding them very 
easy, but the second day they were all out in the fly pens 
and all readily found their way back to the nest rooms. 
By this experience I learned that the aisle in front and the 
overhead shute will work as well with an open front house 
as a closed one. 

The California and southern breeders have developed a 
good idea in fly pen running lioards. They build them on 
either side which is far better than the old ladder-like ar- 
rangement that is so commonly used in the east and central 
states. The difference in these two systems of fly pen 
perches is all in favor of the southern idea. The objection 
to the ladder plan is that it is hard to catch birds in a fly 
pen with one of these constructions in it. If the birds light 
on the top round it cannot be reached, or if they get back 
of the ladder on the ground they are hard to get to. I was 
once visiting a squab plant and the owner had asked me to 
make any suggestion that I saw fit, and in reply to my 
suggestion that I liked the single running boards along the 
sides better than the kind he had as it made it easier to 
catch birds. He asked "AVhy should a person be catching 
their birds so much?" In less than three minutes he was 
in his fly pen trying to catch a bird to remove a tight band 
and was chasing it all over the pen and scaring all the other 
birds. There are several advantages to the southern idea 
of fly pen running boards. They are less expensive, more 
easy to construct and the birds like them better. The short 
flight across the fly pen from one board to another offers 
good exercise for the birds and they like a flat surface to 
light on better than the edge or corner of a board that they 
have to light on with the ordinary ladder perches. It is 

153 



easier to clean a fly pen that has the running boards on the 
side than where there is a ladder to clean under. 

The western plan of a small, low^ fly pen is also better 
than the large, high pens used in the eastern states. The 
roof of a fly pen should not be over 7 feet high, 61/2 is the 
best height. It makes the birds wild to have the roof of the 
fly pen so high that they can fly over your head when you 
are in the pen. They are much harder to catch and this 
also makes them wild. As an example, you can put a 
chicken in a small coop where it cannot get out of your 
reach and you can pick it up at will, but put that same 
chicken out in a big yard and see how hard it is to catch. 
The door or gate to the fly pen should be through the squab 
house and there should l3e a door leading direct to every 
pen and no door from one pen to another. 

Probably the greatest difference in squab house con- 
struction is in the nest box systems used by the different 
breeders all over the country. The majority of people 
starting in the business adopt the old-fashioned foot square, 
open front boxes and extend them from the ceiling to the 
floor. This is not a very satisfactory method and they set 
out to improve it and the result is that a lot of different 
plans have developed, and as most of them are improve- 
ments over the original each person is more or less partial 
to their own plan. The first noticeable defect to the plain 
foot square nest system is that there is nothing in front of 
the nests and birds leaving the nests hurriedly are apt to 
drag the eggs and even young scjuabs out of the nests. With 
a four-inch board across the front of the nests the birds 
have a protection to build behind Avhich has several advan- 
tages. If the birds leave the nests hurriedly they invari- 
ably step up on the four-inch board before starting to fly 
which makes it almost impossible to drag eggs or young out 
of the nests as they leave it. The board across the front 
A\all keep other old birds from flying right in the nests on 
top of its occupants. If a bird by mistake flies into a nest 
they generally start a fight thinking that some other bird 
has their nest. 

Each pair of pigeons needs two nests as they have 
squabs in one nest and eggs in another. With the old plan 
several pairs will likely build in a particular section of the 
room occupying all the nests in that section. Then when a 
pair is ready to lay the second time all the adjoining nests 
are taken and as a result they generally lay back in the 
nests with their squabs, which is bad for several reasons, 
or they do not start to work until their squabs are old 
enough to leave their nests. To provide a double nest some 
breeders in the eastern states use a nesting system known 
as the "T" double nest. This style of nest has some advan- 
tages, but the principal objection is that the squabs will 

t54 



climb over to the other half of the nests, when they get 
about three weeks old and bother the old birds on eggs, 
often breaking the eggs or crowding the mother bird off 
from them thus allowing the eggs to get chilled. The old 
birds in order to avoid being thus bothered by their squabs 
will often build in another double nest which recjuires two 
double or four nests for one pair, while the "T" system 
is more easy to clean than the old method on account of the 
front and middle partitions being removalile. It is not as 
easy to clean as nests with removable bottoms. The old 
method of building the nest boxes from floor to ceiling is a 
bad practice, the top nests are hard to get at as you camiot 
see in them unless you climl) up on something and the nests 
down near the floor are also hard to get into and scjuabs 
will leave the nests near the floor before they should, which 
will make them poor and stunt their growth. AA^hen I was 
a boy and lived in the country we had common pigeons and 
my father constructed long rows of outside nest boxes on 
top of a shed under the eaves of our barn ; in front of each 
row of nests he nailed a four-inch running board the full 
length of the barn. Our pigeons took to these boxes readily 
but some old cocks took to them too well and claimed more 
nests than they needed. As a preventative to this we boys 
nailed some short upright boards, fencing off, so to speak, 
the nests into pairs allowing a short running board two feet 
long in front of each two nests. This plan worked like a 
charm and is where I got my first idea of the double nest 
plan, and from this I have developed the Eggleston Double 
Nest System. 1 find that the (luestion of properly housing 
and providing practical and convenient equipment goes a 
long way towards the success of a squab plant and that 
too little attention is given these important matters by the 
average squab breeder. 

The aisle in front plan with the overhead shute, the 
double nest system with nests on the side walls only, the 
proper feeding, watering and bathing arrangements coupled 
with the other modern and practical equipment T have 
worked out and perfected, such as the Eggleston grit liox. 
tobacco stem holder and our collapsible mating coop tliat 
folds up out of the way when not in use will save more 
than half the time in caring for the birds and will produce 
much better results. The best of all it costs less money to 
construct and looks better when completed than any plant 
that I have ever yet seen. Those desiring complete infor- 
mation on how to construct a sfjuab house and equip accord- 
ing to the Eggleston-Potter Redybilt plan can secure it free 
by writing for same. 



155 



PREPARING GROUND FOR SQUAB PLANT 

A location should be selected that will be convenient to 
water, where feed can be hauled to the plant in a wagon, 
and while it is not advisable to build too close to your resi- 
dence, yet the squab house should not be too far away on 
account of thieves or meddlesome boys. 

The size of the plant, whether you live in town or the 
country, and the location of other buildings should govern 
to a large extent the location of your plant. 

You should select fairly level ground and, if convenient, 
a space that will enable you to face your building to the 
south. An east or a north front is better than a west front, 
on account of the afternoon sun shining directly against 
the front of the building. 

The ground should be leveled and graded up in a way 
that water will run off and awaj^ from the squab house 
and fly pen. If you can secure a load or two of gravel, 
it is a good plan to cover the ground for some distance 
around the plant with it. This will assist in draining the 
water off and in keeping the ground from getting muddy 
in bad weather. Cinders will answ^er almost as well, but 
gravel should be used in the fly pens, as cinders cut the 
birds' feet and do not furnish any grit for them to eat like 
gravel will. Cinders make a good thing to put under the 
squab house to keep the rats from digging under. 

The ideal conditions are to have the ground around the 
house and fly pen sown with grass seed, the fly pen covered 
with gravel, and the ground under the house filled up with 
cinders and gravel or cement walks leading to and around 
the plant. 



HOW TO BUILD A SQUAB HOUSE 

There are many things to be taken into consideration 
when building a squab house, viz. : economy in cost of con- 
struction, economy in time, both as regards to the time 
saved in the construction and time savedjn caring for the 
birds after the house is built. The welfare of the birds 
and the kind of a house that will produce the best results 
must also be considered. The house must be built so as 
to be warm in winter and cool in summer, and should look 
nice outside and in. This may not seem necessary, but a 
squab house can be made attractive as easily as not. It 
costs no more and generally less to construct something 

156 



pleasing to the eye, so why not bear this in mind when 
building? If one builds along the lines described in the 
following paragraphs, the house will add to the beauty of 
the general landscape rather than detract from it. 

The next difficulty is the breeding qualities, as the Car- 
neau is a fast breeder, and it would not be consistent to 




Ground Floor Plan of Four-Unit Squab House 

create a white Carneau in size, shape and other qualities 
without maintaining its breeding and squab-producing 
proclivities. This can be done if the white offspring is 
created in such a way that at least seven-eighths of its blood 
is Carneau then, too, a sprinkling of the fast breeding 
Homer blood will tend to offset the slow breeding Runt 




blood. If anyone thinks that it is a cinch and an easy mat- 
ter to breed and create a White Carneau by crossing, let 
him be convinced of his error by trying it out for himself. 
There has always been a great demand for birds with white 
feathers, as they seem to attract the' eye. The White Car- 
neau when perfected, like white chickens, will be a very 

157 



popular breed. There are a few White Carneaux in exist- 
ence, but as yet this variety is in the experimental stage. 
It, however, is a good cause and a worthy undertaking 
from a commercial standpoint, besides the work being most 
interesting and instructive to one who likes pigeons and 
enjoys accomplishing hard tasks. 

You can build the house as a carpenter would by first 
putting up the frame work and then nailing on the siding, 
or you can make each side and ends on a pair of trussels 
and then set these sections in place and nail them together. 
I believe the latter M'ay the fastest and surest way. The 




Elevation Show Front View of Four-Unit Squab House 

accompanying pictures show a house constructed in sec- 
tions and then set up. The end sections are made six feet 
high at ])ack, seven feet in front, eight feet from the cen- 
ter of the gable to the floor, and 14 feet from front to back. 
The frame for the cross partitions should be made the 
same as the end frames. After this is done, set them up 
in place 8 feet apart and fasten them together by running 
a 2x4 scantling from one to the other at each of the cor- 
ners and along the top as a ridge pole. Then nail in two 




Rear Elevation Showing Back View of a Four-Unit 
"Redybilt" Squab !louse 

additional rafters for each 8-foot section of the house. 
Then run two additional upright pieces two feet apart in 
front on each side of where the door leads from aisle to tly 
pen ; after which you are ready to nail on the siding. The 
siding can be put on up and down or horizontally.' Tongue 
and groove flooring running up and down makes a good ma- 
terial for this purpose, or drop or lap siding can be used. 
If the boards are run up and down, no extra pieces are 
necessary for the frame work, as there will be plenty to 
nail to. There should be a door at the end of the aisle 
and one leading into each fly pen. Also a window at the 

158 



back of the house in each nest room up near the roof. By 
having the window high in this manner, it will furnish 
plenty of light and air and at the same time no direct draft 
will blow on the nests. On the outside of the window 
should be nailed one-inch mesh chicken wire to keep the 
birds in when the window is open and also to keep the 
sparrows out. Heavier wire can be used if there is danger 
of some one crawling through tho window and stealing the 
birds. 




159 



AISLE IN FRONT 

By having an aisle between the nest room and the fly 
pen, a squab plant is almost doubled in efficiency, and this 
is especially true with reference to convenience and time 
saved in feeding, watering, cleaning and caring for the 
birds. 

If you are not familiar with the aisle in front plan, you 
cannot fully appreciate its advantages until you can, by 
actual test, try out and compare the front aisle plan as 
against houses constructed on other plans. 

With the aisle in front, the birds will not fly out every 
time one enters the building. You pass between the birds 
and fly pen; they would have to fly by you to get out, so 
do not do so, and soon they get accustomed to people pass- 



"?r t I II i D II II I I 1 11 1 1 I II I 




Perspective View of Aisle Showing Overhead 
Chutes and Mating Coops 



ing along the aisle and become very tame and gentle. With 
the aisle in front the birds will mate, build their nests or 
feed their young while you stand in the aisle and watch 
them through the wire partition. This enables you to keep 
a perfect check on your birds and catch and band mated 
pairs with little trouble. This is especially true if your 
nests are on the side walls of the nest room and built on 
the Eggleston double nest plan. 

With the aisle in front, one man can feed and care for 
more than three times as many birds than he could without 
the aisle. With this construction it is not necessary to enter 
the nest room to feed. The boxes are in the aisles. This 
advantage alone is worth consideration. 

160 



The wire door between the aisle and the nest room 
should be opposite the door leading to the fly pen, so as to 
be easy and convenient to go from nest room to fly pen, 
and vice versa. With the aisle in front the mating coops 
can be placed in the aisle, which will make them handy to 
the nest room. Sacks or bins of feed, grit and other sup- 
plies can be kept in the aisle conveniently. This is a spe- 




Perspective View of Aisle, Showing Aisle with 

Overhead Chutes. Notice the Aisle 

Feed Boxes in Place 



cial advantage with a small plant, as it saves building a 
feed house. 

With these and other advantages, and the fact that a 
house built with an aisle in front with a wire partition costs 
less than a house built with the aisle in the rear, the ad- 
vantages and practicability are all in favor of this method 
of construction. 

11 161 



Even if you already have your house constructed, it will 
pay you to remodel it and run an aisle along between the 
nest rooms and the fly pens with a wire partition between 
the aisle and the nest rooms. If you live in a warm climate 
the front wall can also be made of wire. 




FEEDBOX AND PROTECTING COVER FOR USE INSIDE NEST ROOM 



'/y / / ■ , 







NEST BOTTOM 



162 



HOW TO CONSTRUCT OVERHEAD 
LEADING FROM NEST ROOM 
TO FLY PEN 



EXIT 



This passage way should be one foot wide and at least 
8 inches high. The sides should be made of slats or wire, 
so birds will not build in it, and the bottom should be made 
of a 1x12 board and be removable, so as to be taken down 
and cleaned. The sides of this exit or shoot can extend 
clear up to the roof of the house. (See exit drawing.) If 
the top of the fly pen does not extend up to the top of the 
outlet, the wire can slant up a foot or so near the build- 
ing. (See "Fly Pen" drawing.) The bottom of the 
shoot should be at least 6 feet from the floor of the aisle, 
to permit a tall person to walk under same. Six feet 2 
inches is a better height. 

To make the bottom removable, nail a small clete across 
the under side of the 1x12 bottom, li/o inches from each 
end of same, making this bottom board about 2 inches 
longer than the aisle is wide, so that an inch will extend 
into hole leading to loft room and another inch extending 
into the hole leading to the loft room, and another inch ex- 
tending into the hole leading to the fly pens. The cletes 
will prevent the board from slipping or falling down. 
There should be two of these exits for each nest room, one 
leading from each side. 




Exit Chutes, Showing 

Removable Bottom 

Price complete, 75c each 



163 



HOW TO BUILD A FLY PEN 

The best and most practical size for a fly pen is 6 feet 
and 4 inches high, 12 feet long and as wide as the loft room 
it is to be used in connection with. Eight feet is the width 
of loft I advise, but a foot or two wider than that is all 
right, especially when the house is already built. Any 
space more than 10 feet for the width of fly pen or nest 
room is unnecessary and a disadvantage. Such extra space 
can be utilized for uumated birds, youngsters, feed bins, 
grit and nesting material. 

If the builder of fly pens will follow these instructions 
carefully, and read them as he builds (as is advised when 
building squab house and nest boxes), he will find them 
simple and easy to construct. 

First make up as many frames out of 2x4 or 2x3-inch 
lumber, 6 feet 4 inches \nde and 12 feet long, as there is 
to be ends and partitions in the fly pen being built. That 
is to say, for a single fly pen make up 2 ends. For a double 
unit pen, 2 ends and 1 partition. For a 6-unit fly pen, 2 
ends and 5 partitions. What is meant by end is the length 
that extends out from the building. These ends should be 
made and braced across the corners and covered wdth 
chicken wire before they are set up in place. Ends and 
partitions are made the same way and are just alike. 

If they are made 6 feet 4 inches high, they can be cov- 
ered with a 6-foot strip of wire. Shingle nails are better 
and much easier to nail the wire on with than the little wire 
staples that come with the wire. Drive the nails in about 
half way, hook the wire over them, and then bend down. 
After these frames are made, then put the ends and parti- 
tions up in place against the squab house, 8 feet apart, then 
nail a 2x4 across the front at top and another across at the 
bottom the length of your fly pen, run a brace from the 
top center at each end to the top corner of the same unit. 

These braces are necessary to keep the wire from bend- 
ing the 2x4 at each end when wire is stretched. This will 
complete the frame work. 

Then cover the top wdth 2 strips of chicken wire 6 feet 
wide and the front with one strip 6 feet wide. These strips 
should be run with the building. First nail one edge of 
the wire to the building, then the two ends, then put on 
second strip and nail the outside edge to the front of the 
frame, then the ends and then pull the two inside edges of 
wire together, and by the use of a 6 penny nail, twist the 
wires together, which is a better and quicker way than 

164 



tying together with a piece of wire, as is generally done. 
If the wire is put on right in this method, it will be as tight 
as a drum with but little stretching. 

There should be a door or gate leading into each fly pen 
unit. The best place to have these doors is from each nest 
room or the aisle opposite each nest room, but if this is not 
practical, place a wire gate outside near the squab bouse. 




HOW TO BUILD BATH TROUGH 

The construction of a bathing trough along the outside 
of a fly pen, as is illustrated by the accompanying pictures, 
is a very simple undertaking, yet it is a most convenient 
and serviceable bath arrangement. 

I got this idea from a city farmer who had a similar 
arrangement on the outside of his hog pen, which he used 
for swill. He would first fill this trough up with slop and 
then open the swinging gate at the bottom, which would 
permit the hogs to get to the trough. After they had fin- 
ished, the gate would be closed and the trough cleaned out 
and in this way kept the trough from getting soured with 
the swill and creating an offensive odor. 

To construct a bath trough, it is best to select lumber 
that is free from cracks or knots. Make the trough 10 to 
12 inches wade, about 5 inches high and as long as the width 
of your fly pens or fly pen units. A continuous trough the 
full length of a numlier of fly pens can be constructed and 
in this way several pens of birds can be watered or given 
a bath simultaneously and with practically no more labor 
than it would take to give one pen or birds water and a 
bath. 

After the trough is made block it up in place at the 
bottom and along the outside front of your fly pen. You 
can make it level by pouring a little w^ater into the trough. 
To keep it from leaking first paint all the knot holes, joints, 
cracks and corners, both inside and out, with a heavy coat 

165 



of asphaltum or warm tar. When this dries, which will 
only be a few minutes, give the trough another coat of 
asphaltum or tar, this time covering the entire surface of 
the trough. Should you then find that the trough leaks 
at any place, repaint it at that point wih one or two more 
coats of tar. 

If a continuous trough is desired, they can be joined 
together and made water tight by tacking a piece of tin 
over the joints or one-half of two adjoining boards can 
each be sawed out and lapped together. 

After the trough is made and in place, make a gate 
frame three feet wide and as long as the width of each fly 
pen ; then nail the wire on to this frame by using the same 
wire that is in use on the fly pen. You can do this by 




Corner view of Fly Pen, showing bath and drinking troughs with bath gate 
open ready for bathing. When completed a piece of heavy canvas is nailed 
at end of gate to keep birds from getting out or from one pen to another. 



putting the frame in place, tack the wire on same and 
then cutting the wire on the outside of the frame. But 
before cutting the wire loose at the top of the frame, nail 
a strip across tlie front of the fly pen about three feet from 
the ground and tack the wire on to same. This board will 
form a piece on which to hinge the gate, or the wire can 
be left uncut at the top and thus will serve as a hinge. 
This frame or gate should swing down inside of the trough 
when shut and when open should raise up against the outer 
top edge of the trough and be fastened there with a couple 
of hooks or old-fashioned wooden buttons, as is shown in 
diagram. When the gate is open the l)irds have access to 
the bathing trough and when closed the trough can be 
swept out and cleaned conveniently. To prevent the birds 

166 



from getting out at the end of the trough when the gate 
is open, or from getting from one pen to another, tack a 
three-cornered piece of cloth to the gate and the fly pen, 
the size of the space when the gate is open. This cloth will 
fold up like a bellows when the gate is shut. 

The cloth must be long enough to reach clear down to 
the bottom of the trough and be fastened on the inside of 
the trough, otherwise birds will crawl under same and go 
from one pen to the other. 

Bathing 

If dirty bath water is left where birds can drink it, it 
is bad for them. For that reason it is necessary to empty 
the bath water soon after the birds have bathed in it. This, 
together with the trouble of going in to each pen to fill 
bath pans and many other unnecessary steps are saved by 
the use of the Eggleston bathing system. 

Then, too, this method provides a better means for giv- 
ing the birds a bath and has many features of advantage. 

The accompanying cuts will show just how to construct 
bath troughs, which can be used with or without the little 
drinking trough attached. The drinking trough in the nest 
room is needed for youngsters, on the floor affords a handy 
place for the females to get a cjuick drink and is especially 
good at feeding time, when the old birds are feeding squabs. 
The drinking arrangement in fly pens is not necessary, but 
well worth the little trouble it takes to construct in con- 
nection with bath trough and, therefore, we recommend it. 
These bath troughs can be made of wood or galvanized iron. 
If made of wood they will need a couple of coats of hot 
coal tar or asphaltum to prevent leaking. 

If running water is not available or if water is scarce, 
a short bath trough two or three feet long can be used in 
front of each pen, with a short gate made on the same prin- 
cipal. In such a case the troughs will have to be filled by 
hand, but even so the work will all be done on the outside 
of the pens and easy to get at. When running water is 
used, the faucet should be placed above the smaller drink- 
ing trough, so on other than bath days, a small dripping 
stream can be turned in to the drinking trough only. On 
bath days the same faucet w\\\ fill the bath trough if the 
outer edge of the drinking trough is made higher than the 
edge next to the bath trough, which construction will also 
provide a daily overflow into the bath trough and keep it 
damp, thus preventing probable leaks. 

Drinking Troughs 

First, make a three-cornered trough out of two lx4-inch 
pieces of lumber or out of galvanized iron. This trough 
should be as long as the combined width of each unit or 

167 



nest room of the squab house. If made of wood the trough 
should be given two heavy coats of asphaltum to keep it 
from leaking ; tar applied while hot will also prevent leak- 
ing. In warm climates this trough can be run along the 
outside of the back wall just above the level of the floor, 
with openings cut through with slats across for the birds 
to drink through. See drawing. In colder climates the 
trough can be run through the inside of the nest rooms. In 
such a case it is best to run it next to the back wall, where 
it will be out of the way when cleaning. A removable cover 
for the inside trough can easily be provided by nailing a 
1x6 inch on to 2 inch thick blocks, then laid across the 
trough. 

By making these cover boards about 4 feet long, two can 
be used in each nest room, which will be easier handled 
than a longer one. 

If the outside trough will be in the sun or where dirt 
will blow in it, a cover should also be provided. In case 
there is no city or running water available, then a barrel 
or keg can be placed at one end of the trough with a faucet 
set just above the trough, and turned on so only a small 
dripping stream will run. An overflow should be provided 
for at the farther end of the trough, so the water will not 
run over into the nest rooms. 



EGGLESTON DOUBLE NEST SYSTEM 

The fact that leading squab plants all over the country 
are tearing out their old nests and replacing them with the 
Eggleston double nests more and more each year, is evi- 
dence that this nest system is the best. 

The Eggleston nesting system provides each pair of 
birds with a double nest, as is necessary for fast squab 
producing pigeons. Whether you are constructing a new 
plant or operating an old one, you should equip it with 
the Eggleston double nests. This system will pay for itself 
every six months by increased squab production, to say 
nothing of the convenience in cleaning the plant and the 
time saved in feeding and caring for the birds. 

How TO Build the Eggleston Double Nest 

Each pair of squab breeding pigeons require two nests, 
as they lay and go to setting again before their squabs are 
large enough to leave the nest. By this system there are 
two nests connected wdth a short running board, or porch, 
in front of them, with an upright board separating the 
running board in front of the next two nests on the same 
row. By this arrangement a pair of pigeons will claim two 
nests, and fight off other birds that light on the running 

168 



board in front of their nest or try to build in the nest next 
to the one they are building in. 

There are various methods used for nest boxes — orange 
boxes, egg crates and other similar boxes are often used by 
stacking them on top of each other and nailing a 4-inch 
strip across the front of the boxes, which holds them to- 
gether and makes a protection for the nest and squabs. 

Some build a rack, or bench, 18 inches high, and then 
set the orange boxes or crates on top of the rack. 




2zyy- 



NEST MATERIAL CRATE 

Eggleston Double Nests, Showing a Single Section of Eight Nests. 
Price, $1.40. Additional Sections of Eight Nests, $1.20. Eighty Nests, $12.00 



The best method is to build the nest boxes out of lum- 
ber and conform to the Eggleston double nest system. One- 
half inch lumber is just as good as inch lumber, is much 
cheaper and a little easier to handle. 

Nine carpenters out of ten will start to build these nests 
by running the longer boards horizontally like store-shelves, 

169 



and then nail in the upright partitions with short boards. 
Such methods are wrong. The upright partitions between 
the nests should be put up first, and the horizontal ones 
should be short boards, which, slide in on cleats and form 
the nest bottoms and are removable. 

One-half the upright positions between the nests should 
be 18 inches wide, and 45 inches long, the other half should 
be 12 inches wide and 45 inches long. These uprights 
should be cleated on both sides with cleats about three- 
fourths of an inch square. The cleats should be nailed on 
11 inches apart, including cleats at the top and bottom or 
at both ends, making five cleats on each partition. The 
cleats on both sides can be nailed on at the same time by 
driving the nails right through from cleat to cleat. 

Houses should be built so as to furnish plenty of light 
and ventilation. The partitions between the nest room 
and the aisle should be made of wire, and the partitions 
between the nest rooms should be made of open lattice work. 
A door in front opposite each nest room, and a window 



/.. 



/. 



"J" 




PETAILEP VH-W3- PoORS-To-TLY-PEt^S - 

in the rear under the eave in each nest room will furnish 
plenty of light and gives perfect control of the ventilation 
at all seasons of the year. The windows should be hung 
so as to open up out of the way of the birds and should be 
covered with one-inch mesh wire. The wire door leading 
into the fiy pen should be opposite the door leading to the 
nest room, making it convenient to go from nest room to 
fly pen. This outer wire door should be provided with 
two sections of canvas covered removable frames for winter 
use or stormy weather. These canvas frames keep out the 
cold yet permit circulation of light and air, which is very 
essential in squab raising. 



170 



COLLAPSIBLE MATING COOPS 

Mating- coops are necessary to successful squab raising. 
I have designed a collapsible mating coop that can be hung 
up in the aisle or along any wall. They are large enough 
for all purposes and easy to construct. The nest is located 
back out of the light, which is an advantage, as well as 
forming a semi-double compartment sufficient to keep the 
male bird from fighting the female when they are first put 
together. 

One end and one side of the coop are slatted, while the 
other end and side are solid. This furnishes plenty of light 
and air without draft, an advantage often overlooked in 
mating coops. 




COLLAPSIBLE MATING COOPS 



The nest bottoms, as 1 make them, are removable, mak- 
ing it easy to clean the coops, and the coops are so ar- 
i-anged that feed, water and grit can easily be supplied. 
The coop is hinged to the wall in such a manner that it can 
be collapsed and swung against the wall out of the way. 

Each coop is two stories high, thus a number of pairs 
can be mated wp at the same time. 

If you have a large plant or a large number of pigeons, 
mating coops are always needed, so it is well to provide 
them in advance, and in this way a number can be con- 
structed at once, with economy in both material and time. 
Tf you have a large number of nest rooms in a row or in 
close proximity, a mating room with a number of mating 
coops can be provided convenient to your nest rooms. As 

171 



it does not require as much space for mating coops as it 
does for nest boxes, a space four feet wide will furnish 
enough room for a row of mating coops on one side of the 
wall. A room six feet wide is sufficient space to have mat- 
ing coops on two walls, but if you have your squab house 
constructed on the Eggleston plan, with the aisle in front, 
the aisle furnishes a practical and convenient place to put 
mating coops of the collapsible design, as described above. 

If a number of mating coops are made together, a lit- 
tle drinking trough can be run along in front of any num- 
ber of coops, which will save much time, or a can or cup 
of any kind can be fastened on the outside of each mating 
coop, and the same kind of an arrangement can be pro- 
vided for ieed, grit and oyster shell, etc. Birds that are 
shut up for a few days in this way should always be pro- 
vided with grit and oyster shell. A good method is to place 
a can of feed and a can of oyster shell and grit in front of 
two mating coops so that the birds in each coop will have 
access to feed on one side and oyster shell and grit on the 
other. In this way, one can of shell or grit will supply 
birds in two separate mating coops, which will not only 
save room and feeding cans, but time in filling them. 

It is not a good idea to put the feed or grit in where 
the birds can foul it. The best method is to keep this on 
the outside, but it is not a bad plan to cover the bottom 
of your mating coops with coarse sand or fine gravel, or 
at least throw a handful of fine gravel on the floor of each 
coop. No straw, tobacco stems, or nesting material is neces- 
sary for birds that are just mating. By the time they are 
mated sufficiently to be ready to build their nest, they can 
be taken out and put into a regular nesting room, with the 
other birds. It is not a wise idea, however, to put birds 
back into a pen with their old mates, as they are apt to 
leave their new mates and go back to their old ones, unless 
they have been mated long enough to raise a pair of squabs, 
then they are not liable to separate. 



FEED BOXES 

If the Eggleston plan of squab house is used, with an 
aisle in front of the nest rooms, the feed boxes should be 
made to fit the spaces on each side of the doors that lead 
to nest rooms. See slatted space for that purpose in nest 
room drawing. The slats, you will notice, are nailed on 
up and down, and are far enough apart to permit the birds 
to feed through them. Feed boxes should be made 5 inches 
wide, 21/4 inches high in front and 6 inches high at back. 
It is best to make these boxes out of one-half inch lumber, 
the front at least should be made out of thin lumber, so the 

172 



birds can reach the grain easily. (See "Aisle Feed Box" 
drawing.) Two feed boxes should be made for each nest 
room, one for each side of the door; otherwise there will 
not be enough room for the birds to all eat at once, and the 
first ones to the feed box at feeding time will eat the choice 
grain, and those that are crowded away will get the 
leavings. 

If feed boxes are required to be placed in the center 
of the loft, the best method is to make the boxes 6 inches 
wide, 3 inches high and about 4 feet long, with a revolving 
roller above the box to keep the birds from perching on the 
box and fouling the grain. The roller can be made out of 
one-inch square strip or a broom handle wdth a nail driven 
part the way in each end to fit loosely in the notches at top 
of each end ; or a V-shaped trough s\\Ting over the feed 
box also makes a good protector for the feed. 




173 



THE BEST NEST MATERIAL RACK 

Nesting material such as tobacco stems, alfalfa, hay, 
prairie hay, straw, etc., should be kept within easy reach of 
the birds and the best place to keep it is in the nest room, 
but unless it is protected from the birds, they will foul it 
by roosting on the same, and if it gets trampled down 
under their feet and gets dirty, they will not and should 
not use it to make nests out of. 

The simplest, most convenient and practical and easiest 
to construct rack, is pictured below. This rack can be 
placed on the floor against any wall, or if the nest room is 
equipped with Eggleston double nest boxes or nest boxes 
that are up off the floor, it is best to place the material 
rack underneath the row of nests, which will prevent the 
birds from climbing on top of same. If this cannot be 
done, a cover is necessary to keep the birds from perching 
on the nesting material. 

By having the slats run up and down and the crate 
large at the top and small at the bottom, as is shown 
in the picture, material will by its own weight feed to the 
bottom of the crate, where it can be easily reached by the 
birds. The slats should not be over three inches apart, 
which will enable the birds to pull only one stem at a time 
and prevent the material from getting out in quantities 
where it would be strewn over the floor, soiled and wasted. 

To make the crate, first decide on the length that you 
desire same (three feet is a good length), then measure the 
distance from the bottom outside edge of your nest boxes 
to the floor nest to the wall, which will be the length of 
your slats. Nail the slats or lath on to two slats or lath 
three feet in length for the top and bottom pieces, which 
will form the front of your rack. The ends of the rack 
can be made by tacking three-cornered pieces of chicken 
wire against the wall or make a triangle shaped end of 
lath or slats. 

If the crate is to be placed under a row of nests it 
should not be nailed to the wall, as it could not be easily 
filled, but should be fastened in place by a couple of hooks 
to the outer edge of the nest, or by the use of a couple of 
old-fashioned wooden buttons so the crate can be unhooked, 
pulled out and filled, shoved back into place and refastened 
quickly. 



174 



FANCY PIGEONS 

There are some 300 different varieties of fancy pigeons. 
They are usually raised as a fancy or hobby, and their ex- 
treme shape, color, and actions invariably mark their good 
qualities, each breeder endeavoring to perfect his birds 
along special lines peculiar to the breed, to a degree that 
will enable him to surpass other breeders of the same 
variety. To determine the winner in such friendly rivalry, 
a competition pigeon show is held where breeders of fancy 
pigeons enter their best birds in competition. The prizes 
consist of cups, medals, ribbons and cash, and are offered 
by the club or association conducting the show. 

Carneaux, Runts, Maltese and other squab producing 
pigeons are often entered in these shows, either for adver- 
tising purposes or by fancy breeders, w^ho delight in ex- 
celling in these particular varieties. There are recognized 
standards for each fancy variety which are published and 
obtainable from different pigeon associations throughout 
the country. A person desiring, therefore, to breed fancy 
pigeons for exhibition purposes, should secure a standard 
of the breed that he desires to breed to, so that he will 
know what constitutes a perfect bird; otherwise, his efforts 
of development would not be along the proper lines. There 
are people who breed these varieties and keep them for 
sale. Their ads. are generally found in pigeon magazines 
that eater to the fancy end of pigeon raising. The care 
of fancy pigeons is about the same as the care of squab 
producing pigeons, except of course that peculiar varieties 
require peculiar and special attention. Birds that are de- 
veloped principally for their smallness of size require a 
different diet than a bird that is developed chiefly for its 
large size. Birds bred for their flying qualities re- 
quire special attention to develop them along those lines. 
The loft, fly pen, and nest arrangements should be about 
the same as for squab producing birds, where a large num- 
ber are bred, but where there are a few pairs it is not ma- 
terially necessary to use double nest system, although this 
is really much easier when two or three birds are kept in 
the same room. 



175 



MATING FANCY PIGEONS 

Mating fancy pigeons is conducted in the same way as 
a squaj) producing bird, except more care and attention 
should be taken in order to bring out certain qualities in 
the youngsters. In fact, the selection of mates in the fancy 
game is one of the chief and most particular parts of the 
undertaking. It is claimed by some that all fancy, as well 
as other varieties of pigeons, originally came from the old 
blue rock wild pigeon. Whether they did or did not, there 
is one thing evident and that is that all fancy pigeons of 
different varieties have been developed more or less by the 
aid of man, and if fancy pigeons of different varieties are 
crossed, their offspring will soon resemble common pigeons, 
and show more or less blue with black bars on its wings, 
and in a few generations ^^^ll lose the special character- 
istics of the fancy forefathers. 

DEVELOPING FANCY PIGEONS 

Those who raise pigeons for fancy, as a rule, strive to 
create by special mating and selection, birds of special de- 
sign, type and feather color. This is not done, however, by 
crossing one bird with another, but by developing birds in 
a certain direction according to what is possible to accom- 
plish with certain breeds. 

A fan tail pigeon can be developed until, when they 
carry their tail and head in a natural way, their tail 
feathers \\dll be so high and so far forward that the 
feathers will extend in front of their heads. 

Jacobians have a heavy crest of feathers all over their 
neck and head. They can be developed to such an extent 
that their feathers will be so ruffled that they will be com- 
pletely blinded by same. 

Trubets that have short heads and short beaks can be 
so developed that they cannot eat grain from off the 
ground on account of the freakish shape of their head and 
beaks, and the only way they can eat is out of a cup, where 
they can grab at several grains at a time and in this way 
secure one. 

A Tumbler pigeon turns over in the air when it flies 
and Tumblers can be bred and developed to such an extent 
that they cannot fly. Such birds are called Parlor 
Tumblers. Every time they start to fly they turn over 
backwards and when they get excited they continue to turn 
one revolution after another. 

A cross between a Fan Tail and a Turbet or a Fan Tail 

176 



and a Tumbler or any other two fancy pigeons will pro- 
duce a mongrel, and if a person crosses and continues to re- 
cross different breeds, they will in a short time produce a 
common pigeon without any special feather markings or 
colors, but generally blue with black bars. This likewise 
applies to squab producing pigeons. 

Therefore little or nothing can be gained in the way of 
crossing breeds and progress only can be made by develop- 
ing breeds already established, which were not created, a.s 
most people would imagine by crossing breeds, but by tak- 
ing a single breed and developing it through special mating 
and selection into certain directions with certain results. 

I might add that if you have any curiosity as to what 
would be the offspring of different breeds of pigeons 
crossed together, buy a common pigeon to start with and 
save yourself the trouble. 

CARE OF COMMON PIGEONS 

The care of common barnyard pigeons is about the same 
as the care of squab raising or fancy pigeons, except they 
do not require quite as much daily attention for the reason 
that they have a greater opportunity to provide for them- 
selves if they fly at liberty. They, however, should be fur- 
nished suitable nesting places to protect them from the 
weather, their nests should be cleaned out and whitewashed 
at least twice a year; salt, charcoal, oyster shell or grit 
should be furnished, for often birds are not able to find 
these essentials in their daily flights, and this is especially 
true with salt. The common variety of pigeons do not pro- 
duce as many squabs as regular squab raisers and their 
squabs are not nearly so large, so they do not bring nearly 
so much per dozen on the market. However, with a little 
care and attention you can improve the results obtained 
from your common birds to such a degree that you will be 
well paid for the trouble. 

If you expect to make very much profit from birds that 
fly out I would advise that you increase the size and squab 
raising ability of your birds, either by keeping a large sized 
variety of birds or by purchasing odd cocks of large 
varieties and cross them with your common birds. You can 
do this by mating them up with your common hens. The 
average squab breeder invariably has a surplus of odd cocks 
which can be bought at a much less price than mated birds. 
Homer cocks are all right to cross, except that they will fly 
away when liberated. It is their instinct to try and find 
their original home. Then, too, Homers are not very much 
larger than the common pigeons and do not produce as 
large a cross as the Carneaux, Mondaines or other large 
breeds. 

177 



HOW AND WHEN TO FEED AND WATER 
BIRDS THAT FLY OUT 

Birds that fly out, that is, that are not kept in fly pens, 
require much less feed than those that are kept contined. 
There is an opportunity for birds that fly to forage their 
living along the highways, in railroad yards or in public 
places where stock is kept or fed. The average pigeon will 
go miles to secure food. To attain much success, however, 
with birds that fly loose you should feed them once a day, 
otherwise their squabs are not apt to receive a sufficient 
amount of food, and this is especially true in the wdnter 
time when snow is on the ground. 

A little feed given to them just before sundown is the 
best method because then they will have hunted all day for 
feed while if they are fed in the morning or during the day 
they will not rustle so hard and soon acquire the habit of 
sitting around waiting for feeding time. Then, too, if they 
are fed at night it has a tendency to bring youngsters or 
unmated birds home at night w^hich wull keep them from 
straying away. Pigeons that fly out eat lots of green stuff, 
such as grass, weeds, seeds and roots. They also pick up a 
lot of other articles that you would not credit a pigeon with 
eating. A good plan is to examine the crops of your squabs 
about sundown once or twice a week to ascertain if they 
are filled. If so, the food supply should be reduced a little. 
If not, it should be increased, but not to the extent that the 
birds will depend too much upon the feed that you give 
them. While it is not a good idea to feed birds that are 
confined to a fly pen by throwing the grain on the ground, 
this method will do very nicely for birds that fly out, for 
the reason that you will not feed them more than they will 
pick up at one time, hence there will be no grain left on the 
ground to get wet and become sour. A good plan is to provide 
a smooth gravel spot and then throw the grain on this place 
each time. If chickens, hogs, etc., have access to this feed- 
ing ground it should be fenced off so that nothing but 
pigeons can get to the feed intended for them. 

Pigeons do not hold their own very well when eating 
with chickens. A simple plan when bothered by chickens 
or hogs is to construct a platform a few feet square, five or 
six feet from the ground, high enough to prevent chickens 
from flying to it and then throw the pigeon feed on this 
platform. They will soon learn their feeding place and the 
time of day to expect it, also the person that does the feed- 

178 



iiig. In a short time they will become very tame and 
can be trained to light on your shoulder, eat out of your 
hand, etc. 

Watering Pigeons that Fly Out 

All pigeons drink lots of water, which is a very neces- 
sary part of their diet. A convenient place should be pro- 
vided for birds that fly out to drink at any time of the 
day tliey might desire. This will also have a tendency to 
keep birds from straying away and often causes stray birds 
in the neighborhood to establish their permanent residence 
with you. 

During freezing weather it is advisable to furnisli a 
supply of water about twice a day, which should be done 
about the same hour each day. The birds will soon learn 
the hour that tbey can get a drink and will be on hand at 
that time. 



HOW TO CONSTRUCT NESTING PLACES 
FOR BIRDS THAT FLY OUT 

The old-fashioned idea of a box on top of a pole is most 
generally adopted by people who keep barnyard or common 
pigeons. These outdoor houses are invariably made with 
little protection from the heat or cold. They cannot be 
cleaned and are not readily accessible. About the only 
virtue to the Martin box idea is the fact that cats, weazels 
and other animals cannot easily get to the birds. The best 
arrangement that I know of for liirds that fly out is to as- 
sign them a place in a corner of a loft or some suitable 
building, put in a double nest system and make some ar- 
rangements as you would for birds that are kept in fly 
pens. Then arrange an opening for the birds to pass in 
and out, high enough up and in a way that cats and 
other animals cannot get into the lofts. 

A good plan is to build one or more rows of double nests 
under the eaves of a barn or outbuilding, using the dou))le 
nest described herein with removable bottoms and short 
running boards in front of each double nest, except 
make the upright in front of each nest so as to leave a place 
four inches square for them to go in and out of. This can 
be done by nailing a board 16 inches long across the front 
of the two double nests, which will leave a four-inch space 
open at each end of the 16-inch board. (See drawing illus- 
trating same, also drawing showing row of double nests 
built under the eaves of a barn.) If care is taken in put- 
ting up the nest and they are painted and trimmed to 
match the barn the arrangement can be made attractive 

179 



and not an eyesore as you might suspect. All the nest 
boxes should be made with removable bottoms so they can 
be cleaned easily. Birds that are worth keeping at all are 
worth furnishing a suitable place to build and the differ- 
ence in squabs produced and time saved in their care will 
more than offset the extra trouble to supply a suitable 
building place for them. The greatest objection to allow- 
ing birds to fly out is the accumulation of extra odd males, 
and unless you have complete control over your flock and 
have a perfect check on them the males will naturally 
increase faster than the females. A female is more delicate, 
is more apt to die, are not as long lived as the males, are 
less apt to live to mating age and a female egg is less apt 
to hatch than the male egg, all of which is a tendency to 
increase the number of males and decrease the females. 

When birds are flying out they can be banded and a 
check kept on the mated pairs with very little trouble if 
the double nest system is used, as the.y will stay on the nest 
much better with this arangement and can be caught and 
banded while on the nest. Then when odd birds are dis- 
posed of those that are not banded can be sold without dis- 
turbing working birds. Then, as a rule, the unhanded 
birds will be more males than females. With a little extra 
work and trouble a trap-door entrance can be made to close 
up every nest in a row of an outside house with one opera- 
tion. With such an arrangement you can close nests at 
night and in a short time band the birds caught on the 
nests. You will invariably find the female in the nest with 
small young or eggs and the male in the connecting or 
adjoining nest. For the method of banding follow the same 
plan as you would in banding birds that are kept in fly 
pens. 

The best and most practical sized room is 8 feet wide and 
10 feet long, with double nests on each side of the room, 
and these dimensions are the most practical, even if an 
old house or barn of any kind is modeled over into a squab 
house. I think it better to partition off a space 8 feet wide 
and 10 feet long with wire or boards rather than to utilize 
a larger room. It is often necessary to catch birds for 
bandings and other purposes and in a larger room it is 
very hard to catch them, and chasing them makes them 
wild. Birds are much wilder and harder to handle in a 
larger room, even though you do not try to catch them 
than they are in a smaller room provided the nesting ar- 
rangement is properly arranged on both sides of the w^all, 
and there is a place for the birds to fly on top of the nests 
or to run under them. When you are in a room without 
such an arrangement birds will become more or less pan- 
icky on account of flying against each other in a small 
place. 

180 



When birds are kept in an attic or loft in a barn or in 
an illy-arranged space it is better to put in a system of 
double nests, one or more rows high than to allow the birds 
to build around haphazardly in corners and other places. 
These double nests can be bought ready-made or easily 
built. The advantages of a double nest is so great in many 
ways that it more than pays to put them in, even for tem- 
porary arrangement. Pigeons will do well in almost any 
kind of a building or house or even in a basement if not 
too damp, cold and dark, provided proper nesting arrange- 
ment is furnished and they are given proper care. A little 
fresh air and sunshine is essential but this can be furnished 
in many other ways than by flying pens. An open window 
or door or a small fly pen a few feet square, Imilt outside 
the door or window will prove ample for a few pairs of 
pigeons. 



OUTDOOR HOUSE FOR BIRDS THAT 
FLY AT LIBERTY 

The same principle that applies to constructing nest 
boxes for indoor lofts also applies to the construction of 
nests for outdoor houses. Each pair of birds should have 
a double nest, a short running board connecting same and 
the construction should be so as to make it difficult for 
birds to claim and monopolize more than one double nest. 

The accompanying picture shows an octagon-shaped 
house with 32 double nests or 64 nests in all. To build 
such a house one should proceed in the same manner as if 
he was going to construct nests to go inside of a squab 
house. That is, he should make the upright partitions 
exactly the same, making up a number of partitions 18 
inches wide and 45 inches high, cleated on both sides at 
top and bottom and cleats through the center 11 inches 
apart. Then an equal number of partititions 12 inches wide 
and cleated in the same manner should be alternated with 
these 18-inch partitions the same as nests in the squab 
house, except they can be placed closer together at the 
back than at the front, which will form a circular house 
of most any size desired. 

The nest bottoms for such a house should be made the 
same as the nest bottom for loft use with the exception 
that one side of each bottom will have to be cut off so as 
to allow for the angle caused by the backs of the nests 
being narrower than the front, as illustrated by the ground 
floor drawing here shown. Then there is a difference in 
the front of the nest bottom. Instead of having a short 
4-inch piece nailed to the bottom as is shown in the regular 
Eggleston double nest, the front of the two nests should 

181 



be made as shown in the drawing, and nailed to the 
running board that goes in front of each double nest. The 
running board and front piece, as well as the bottom of 
the nest, rest upon the partition cleats, making them 
removable and convenient to clean. As a protection to 
keep the nest front and running board from falling out 
of place, tack them in to the cleats with a couple of small 
nails or, better still, drive a couple of small nails clear 
through the porch at either end near the back of same 
so that the points of the nails will rest on the cleats. The 
points of the nails resting on the cleats will give a slight 
elevation to the running boards and serve to cause the 




Z^ 

GROUND FLOOR PLAN 



water to drain off. This will cause the front board to lean 
forward, which can be remedied by tipping the front board 
back slightly when you are nailing it on to the running 
board. 

When you get the nest partitions up, the bottoms in 
and the nest fronts and running boards in place, your 
house is complete except the roof. Any kind of a roof 
will do — roofing paper, shingles or tin. Roofing paper is 
the cheapest, easiest to put on and looks just as well. 

A house of this description can be made with 12 or 
16 sides and any number of nests high. 

182 



A good plan is to make it large enough around to allow 
room in the center for one to enter for the purpose of 
getting to the nests from the rear of same. This can be 
done by having a little door to let down at the back of 
each double nest. 

A house built in this manner with 16 sides, 2 feet wide 
each, would ])e 9 feet 8 inches across from outside to 
outside. With such a house I would suggest that a window 




be put in the north side to furnish light for the center. 
The north side is not a very good place for nests in the 
winter time, so a window there wouldn't take up any 
valuable space. 

The upright partitions, nest bottoms, front and running 
boards can be secured from the author, 509 South Wabash 
Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. It is practically the same con- 
struction as our regular standard nest box equipment. 

1«3 



A house of the above description of any size can be 
placed on the top of most any building, but the better plan 
is to build a frame-work about 5 feet high to set it on. If 
desired this frame-work can be enclosed and used as a 
storeroom for feed and other purposes. By making the 
frame-work considerably smaller at the top than at the 
bottom and thus allowing the nest house to extend out a 
considerable distance from the top of the frame-work, cats 
or other animals cannot climb up the frame-work and get 
to the pigeons. A 4-inch strip nailed around the bottom 
of the house extending down from the bottom will tend to 
prevent cats from jumping from the frame-work and 
catching onto the lower running board. This will also add 
to the looks of the construction. 

While better results can be obtained by keeping squab 
breeders from flying in houses and fly pens, there is a good 
argument in favor of allowing the birds to fly at liberty. 
The question of feed is the most important argument in 
favor of the liberty plan, as birds will pick up in the 
street, roads and along railroad tracks and like places a 
large percentage of their feed. This is not only true of 
common pigeons but of homers and most other breeds. 
Some of the larger breeds, however, like Carneaux, will not 
fly very far from home. 




184 



HOW TO KEEP PIGEONS THAT FLY OUT 
FROM LEAVING HOME 

There are several precautions necessary to prevent 
birds that fly at liberty from leaving. Ample and com- 
fortable nesting room for the old birds and roosting room 
for the young ones must be provided and such accommo- 
dations must be arranged so as to prevent fighting and to 
make it easy for the young or timid birds to protect them- 
selves from the attacks of quarrelsome cocks, 
and "Roosting place for birds that fly out." 

Young birds from eight to twelve weeks old are more 
apt to leave and not return than at any other age. When 
youngsters are old enough to well take care of themselves 
the parent birds will fight them and if there is not a con- 
venient place for them to roost they are apt to seek a new 
home even though they find poorer accommodations at their 
new home than at their old one. 

If there are other pigeons kept in the neighborhood 
they will first start spending the day with your neighbors' 
birds returning at night to roost, but finally staying away 
altogether unless you take steps to induce them to stay 
with you. Keeping plenty of water accessible for drinking 
and bathing purposes and feeding your birds a little each 
day just before night will not only help to keep birds from 
leaving home, but will attract stray birds in the neighbor- 
hood and induce them to establish their permanent home 
with you. 

Unless a young cock can secure a nesting place at 
mating age he is apt to leave home and seek a place where 
he can secure a nesting place and a mate. 

Young females are more apt to leave than young males 
as they are easily attracted by your neighbors' old males 
who will even visit your home and decoy your young 
females away. Cocks with mates will even temporarily 
mate up with the young females in order to decoy them 
away and then forsake them after they succeed in getting 
them to leave you. 

If you have provided your young cocks with places to 
build they will more than likely mate up wnth the young 
females before they are attracted by strange males. Often 
it is a good plan to catch the young females when they 
reach mating age and shut them up with odd cocks until 
they mate up and then turn them out. 

• 185 



ROOSTING PLAGE FOR YOUNG BIRDS 
THAT FLY OUT 

The young birds that are to be kept for breeders must 
be provided with a place to roost by the time the old birds 
ween them as they will fight them away from the place 
where they were hatched and raised, forcing them to roost 
out in the weather for a while and then probably leave 
home. A roosting place must be so arranged that birds 
cannot use it for a place to build their nests or it will soon 
be occupied for that purpose and the young birds coming 
on will be without a roosting place. The best way to do 
this is to nail up square blocks for perches along in a row 
about a foot apart against the side of a wall, then four 
inches above same nail a 1x6 board slanting out and down 
and just above that another row of blocks for perches and 
four inches over the blocks place another 1x6 board until 
you have provided enough roosts to take care of your 
young birds. 

The object in having the perches small and a foot apart 
is to keep the birds from fighting and thus prevent the more 
aggressive ones from fighting away the younger or more 
weak ones. The slanting board above each row of perches 
will keep the birds on the upper rows from fouling those on 
the row of perches under them. 

In a southern climate these roosting perches can be put 
on the outside of a building, up under the eaves of a barn 
is a good place, but in a cold climate it is advisable to put 
them up on an inside wall or to partly box them in so the 
birds will have protection from the cold. It is necessary, 
however, to place the roosts where the birds are accustomed 
to staying or they will not find the roosts. 

Summing up the art of keeping birds from leaving home 
I might say in short, provide plenty of nesting room, a 
place for young birds to roost, furnish drinking and bathing 
water and feed them a little just before night of each day. 



186 



DO'S AND DON'TS 

Don't build the nest boxes so high that you can't see 
in the top row when standing on the floor. 

Built nest lioxes 20 inches or so from the floor. This 
will tend to keep birds from building on the floor. 

Use the double nest box system. It's worth is ines- 
timable. 

Give birds Swiss chard, lettuce or other green food two 
or three times a week in spring and summer. 

Furnish the birds with some straw or hay or both along 
with tobacco stems for nest material. Especially so if the 
tobacco stems are coarse. 

Don't fail to sprinkle dry hydrate of lime (air slacked) 
on the floor of the S((uab house weekly. The birds will 
scatter it with their wings and it will keep the entire room 
dry and sanitary. 

Squab house should be cleaned at least once a month 
and nests after the squabs leave them. 

Carbolineum, lime, tobacco stems and a clean loft are 
good lice preventatives. 

The bottom of the fly pens should be fine gravel, then 
stir it up occasionally or, better still, add a little fresh 
supply weekly. 

Don't try to catch birds with one hand. Use both or a 
catching net if one can be used to an advanage. 

Pigeons should have plenty of fresh water before them, 
especially at feeding time. 

Keep the scattered grain oft' the floor where it will get 
fouled and make the birds sick if they eat it. 

Decide on one breed and then stick to it. There is 
nothing in scattered efforts. 

Don't catch or hold birds by the feet or one wing as 
they will hurt themselves trying to get loose. 

Don't feed on the ground for uneaten grain will sour 
and spoil. 

Don't allow foul or dirty water to stay in the drinking 
troughs for it will make the birds sick. 

While salt is necessary, don't give pigeons loose salt. 
Too much salt will kill them. Make a salt cat for each pen. 

Don't allow birds to build on or near the floor as the 
squabs will leave their nests too early. As a preventative, 
follow the Eggleston construction plan of nests. 

The wire cover of fly pens should not be over 6 feet and 
6 inches high. If higher you can't catch the birds well. 

1S7 



The door of a nest room should not be at the opposite 
end from fly pen for with such an arrangement the birds 
will fly off their nests and out of loft when one enters. 

Drinking fountains should be cleaned frequently. A 
good plan is to scald them once a week. 

Don't permit a draft to blow through squab house, es- 
pecially near the floor. This does not apply to fresh air. 

Don't be afraid of birds inbreeding. Each pair is a 
separate family. Then, too, a little in-breeding will do no 
harm. 

One breed is enough if it is a good one. Keep the best 
breed and sell the rest if you have more than one kind. 

Constantly mating and remating birds unless for a pur- 
pose is lost energy and slows up production. 

Don 't ' forever be doping your birds up with medicine. 
Good feed, fresh water and the proper loft conditions is the 
real dope they need. 

How would 3^ou like to have a quack doctor treat you 
who knew no more about you and your ailments than you 
do about pigeons? 

It is easy to make a well bird sick with medicine. 

Don't cross breeds. A mule is the only successful mon- 
grel known and it is not prolific. 

Trying to practice economy by buying inferior birds to 
breed from is really extravagance. 

Don't try to economize by feeding bad grain. 

Never save poor, inferior S(juabs for breeders, as they 
will reduce the quality of your stock. 

Dispose of w^eak or inferior breeders, especially so if 
they are males, as one always has surplus males. 

Don't try to raise squabs without some care and atten- 
tion. Better go out of the business. 



BOOKKEEPING 

Like any other business, a record should be kept of the 
expenditures and sales. Unless one has a large plant, it is 
not necessary to keep a full and detailed set of books, but 
a record sufficient to furnish the necessary information as 
to the cost of running and maintaining the plant and the 
proceeds derived from same should be kept. 

This can be done on a small plan by entering in one 
column money spent for house, equipment, breeding stock, 
feed and other expenses, and in another column, the sales 
and money taken in for squabs or breeders. But if one 
expects to go into the business extensively or to know the 
extent of their profits, they should keep a more complete 
record by keeping account of the cost of each article used 
and each item of expense classified, so they can at any time 

188 



or at the end of the year, know just what it costs them for 
feed, how much it cost for labor, general up-keep of the 
plant, etc. 

This will enable them to manage more successfully the 
business, and by having such information at hand they can 
economize and manage their business in such a way that 
greater profits can be made than could be with a plant 
running haphazardly and without a knowledge of the ex- 
pense of the different branches of same. 

With a large plant, at least ten per cent of the build- 
ing and eqnipment should be charged off annually to profit 
and loss for depreciation, and 15 to 20 per cent of the an- 
nual cost of breeding stock should be charged to profit and 
loss, as the actual life of a breeder is not more than five 
to eight years. 

You might be losing money right along and not know 
it, or your birds might be bringing you a fairly good re- 
turn for the investment and probably you would think that 
they were unprofitable. Therefore, even if you have but 
a few pair, it is advisable to open up and keep a profit and 
loss account, which will prove much more valuable than 
the time spent in keeping an account. 



CAUSE OF FAILURE 

There are failures in every business. There are people 
who fail at most everything they undertake and then there 
are people who succeed at most everything, yet might fail 
in some certain line of business. 

There are many causes of failure in the squab business. 
As a rule, however, they can be traced to two or three 
reasons, viz. : lack of rare and attention to business or over- 
estimating the possibilities of the business; under-estimat- 
ing the knowledge and care necessary to success and lack of 
confidence. 

While squab-producing pigeons are very prolific there 
is a limit to their possibilities. Some people over-estimate 
the number of squabs they can raise and the rapidity with 
which a flock can be increased and then be disappointed 
because their expectations were not realized. An invest- 
ment of $200 or $300 cannot be expected to yield several 
hundred per cent profit, yet the average number of persons 
entering the squab business will calculate on starting with 
a small number of pigeons and increasing their flock by 
saving their youngsters and maintaining their flock and 
other expenses by selling their squabs. Then, because they 
cannot perform an impossibility they become discouraged 
and abandon their project. Such an end should not be 
classed as a failure but as an abandonment. 

189 



A person on the other extreme will, without knowing 
anything about squab raising, start in and expend a large 
amount of money for grounds and buildings much 
more expensive and elaborate than necessary and built 
along lines that are impracticable and then buy a large 
number of breeders to start into a business without first 
having found a possible market for their squabs and with- 
out knowing very much about what can be accomplished. 
Their inexperience in caring for birds and lack of attention 
will cause them to change their minds regarding the possi- 
bilities of the business with the result that they are willing 
to abandon the proposition with a great loss. These people 
should be classified as quitters and not failures. 

Then there is the real failure. This is the man or 
person who enters the business because he has never suc- 
ceeded in any other line but is looking for an opportunity 
to get rich quick or to get an easy living the balance of his 
life without work. As long as his enthusiasm lasts he does 
not fail but soon he starts to neglect his plant by allowing 
the nests and squab rooms to become foul and dirty. The 
birds have insufficient feed and impure water, the pens are 
full of unmated birds and the presence of lice and canker 
all go along with failure. 

Then we have the other extreme in real failure. This 
person overdoes the work and although possessing but a 
few birds makes a slave to the squab business. You will find 
his pens and nest rooms immaculately clean. He has a 
complete record of every bird in his plant, every egg that is 
laid, and after all of this he puts in the rest of his time 
watching his birds instead of doing something else that 
would bring him in some money. 

Such a man would probably make a success of the busi- 
ness if he had a large plant and enough birds to justify his 
time and attention, but as a rule his means are limited and 
before he can get his squab business on a basis that will 
make a living he is at the end of his row financially and is 
forced to give it up. 

Summarizing : A man who does not go into the busi- 
ness gradually and study it thoroughly as he progresses and 
expands, and who has no other business to devote a part of 
his time to, which will bring him an income until he can 
get his squab business on a basis sufficiently large to sup- 
port him, will most likely fail. Likewise will the person 
Avho figures that the squab business is a cinch and thinks no 
effort is required to succeed. Then, too, a great deal de- 
pends on the quality of the man, his desires and willingness 
to pay the price of success by diligent effort mixed with 
common sense. Most any one can make a success of the 
sqiiab business if he has the desire to the extent of putting 
forth the necessary effort, almost regardless of the con- 

190 

LBJa'2? 



ditions that might confront him. Considerable depends on 
the person's mental attitude towards the business. There 
is also the over-confident person who expects too much and 
takes too much for granted. 

The squab lousiness is a success and it is being success- 
fully carried on all over the country by people in all walks 
of life on both large and small scales. The man that goes 
into the business, therefore, to try it out generally labors 
under a handicap. If beginners would only understand 
that a good breed of squab-producing pigeons will produce 
squabs in paying quantities if given the proper care and 
attention. Also that there is a demand for good squabs at 
a paying price and that the business was all right. Then, 
if anything was wrong the fault could be traced to the 
keeper where it could be remedied and their chance of suc- 
cess would be almost certain. 



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